The Amazing Race: Strangetown Edition
by SClownzZzZz
Summary: Seven pairs of Strangetown residents embark on a journey around The Sims 2 universe in hopes of winning the million simoleon cash prize. Along the way, they must solve the universe's toughest problems and survive multiple eliminations in order to be crowned the ultimate traveler. Hosted by the Unsavory Charlatan.
1. Introduction

Hey guys! I had so much fun writing _Survivor: Strangetown Edition_ this past summer that I found myself planning a sequel during it and thus, this story was born! I officially started writing _The Amazing Race_ after I finished _Survivor_ and one thing I will say is that this story takes a LOT longer to write than the previous one (especially since there are so many different storylines in the beginning), but I am hoping to post a chapter of this at least every month.

This story is the sequel to _Survivor: Strangetown Edition_ and happens a few months after all the contestants left the island. Even though this story is technically a sequel, the story should still make sense to someone who hasn't read _Survivor_. Thanks for being so patient and I hope you enjoy this story!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own The Sims or The Amazing Race.

* * *

 **The Amazing Race: Strangetown Edition**

 _Introduction_

"Deep in the deserts of Strangetown live thirteen sims who were stupid enough to put up with me again and one newcomer who has no idea what she has gotten herself into," the man states, stepping forward with his tall, black top hat and black tailed tuxedo. He pushes his fingers together. "Hello, I'm the Unsavory Charlatan, and you may remember me from last season when I hosted one of the most frustrating game shows of all time, which I was forced to do after I was caught stealing one million simoleons from clueless tourists," the host reminds the audience.

"Well, I was caught stealing again, so obviously, I haven't learned my lesson. Many of these contestants have been on a show with me before, so obviously, they haven't learned their lesson," the Unsavory Charlatan states, "But it doesn't matter, because this season is going to be the best season ever! And I'm not just saying this because I'm being forced to – oh no. I'm saying this because I just got word that Pascal Curious had surgery yesterday, which means that he will be unable to participate on this season of the show. And ever since I heard that, I can't stop smiling," the host says, his face beaming.

The Unsavory Charlatan clears his throat. "Anyway, in just a few minutes, our fourteen contestants will set off on the greatest adventure of their lives. Which pair will survive all ten legs of the race and claim the million simoleon prize? This is The Amazing Chase: Strangetown Edition!" the host exclaims, throwing his hands up, "Now, let's meet our teams!"

…

"Hey, I'm Loki," the supervillain flashes onscreen, wearing the classic red and black spiked Criminal Mastermind outfit, "and this is Vidcund," Loki states, gesturing to the plant biologist that is standing next to him. "We were both on the last season of the show, but last time I played against these people, I got eliminated, which was the most devastating thing that ever happened to me. And yes, I _am_ counting my divorce, so don't ask!" he growls. Loki steps back and shakes his head, quickly changing his demeanor. "Anyway, I was too nice last time, that's why I lost," he claims; Vidcund raising his eyebrows in disbelief at this comment, "But this time will be different because I'm older, more ruthless, and willing to do almost anything to win…even if I have to kill someone."

Vidcund steps forward, raising his hand in point, "-He's not going to kill anyone," he says.

Loki gives a slight chuckle. "Yeah. We'll see," he replies, crossing his arms and shooting an evil smirk into the camera. "Oh! And I'm also playing against my ex-wife with the guy who I cheated on her with, so no one wants to be me. I'm just kidding, everyone wants to be me! I mean, who wouldn't?"

Vidcund facepalms and looks over at the camera. "Can you please move on to the next pair?"

…

"Hi everyone, I am Crystal Vu and I'm playing again with my now-roommate, Nervous Subject," Crystal greets, her bright smile appearing onscreen.

Nervous steps forward and waves into the nearby camera. "Hi Mom!" he exclaims.

Crystal smiles. "Now I think we're going to make it really far this season because Nervous and I are a great team and we're really good at getting things done."

"And also I have the candles!" Nervous adds, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a red one. He brings it up to his nose and takes a sniff. "Ooh, apple crisp!" Nervous sets the candle back down in his pocket and looks back into the camera, "But this time we're going to be playing for more than just candles, we're playing for dinnerware that'll really bring our apartment together," he concludes, moving his hands together.

Crystal nods. "Yes, we're very sophisticated adults," she seconds, trying to hold back laughter.

…

"I'm Circe," the young red-haired chief of staff appears onscreen, "And if you don't know why I'm here then boy are you in for a treat!"

"-And uh, I'm Erin," Erin awkwardly steps into the shot, giving a small wave, "And I'm here for vengeance!"

Circe nods. "Yeah, what she said," she seconds, "You see, last season my idiot ex-husband, Loki, ousted me as a beard on national television and got together with my ex-boyfriend, so this season, I decided to go on this show again to repay the favor!" Circe snarls, fire in her eyes.

"And I'm on this season of the show to beat Crystal and if there's time, ruin her life," Erin clarifies next to her, "But I also wouldn't mind winning the million simoleons, because I have a lot of student debt to pay off," she confesses, "So, when do we start?"

…

"Hello puny sims, I am the Grim Reaper – but you can call me Death - and I am back on your television screens!" the Grim Reaper declares, sticking his scythe down into the sand. "Now just because I'm on the show again, doesn't mean that I won't be fulfilling my duties as the Grim Reaper," he states, "I'll still be harvesting souls throughout my journey. Also if anyone dies unexpectedly, it's not my fault," he quickly adds.

"And I'm Kristen!" Kristen Singles, unenthusiastically speaks up next to him, "But honestly, with an introduction that great, who could follow that?" she shrugs. "I'm the only new sim on this season of the show, but I'm very athletic and I love adventure, so I think I should be pretty good at this game. What do you think, Death?"

The Grim Reaper floats over to Kristen and stops in front of her. He rubs his chin with his boney hand. "Yeah, in terms of the partners I could've had on this show, you're definitely in the top half," Death comments, "And that's the closest thing to a compliment you will ever hear me say," he tells the camera.

…

"Hey everyone, I'm Jenny Smith," Jenny greets, "I'm a mom and I'm probably the nicest sim that you will ever meet."

"And I'm Olive Specter," Olive introduces next to her, "I'm also a mother and I'm probably the scariest sim that you will ever meet," she mirrors. "Back in the day, I was a real go-getter. I had a 'killer' job as a Professional Party Guest, I had an even more killer job as a serial killer, but now I'm retired and all I want to do is go home and sit on my wads of cash."

Jenny tilts her forehead, clearly puzzled. "Then why are you competing on this show?" she wonders.

Olive shrugs her shoulders. "I'm running out of wads," she confesses.

…

"I'm Pollination Tech #9, I'm a retired Pollination Technician, I'm eighty-nine years old, and I enjoy worldly adventures," Pollination Tech #9 greets, standing next to his friend.

"And I'm Ajay," Ajay Loner states, raising his hand, "I moved into Strangetown this past year by myself and I met a lot of crazy people – mostly scientists," the newcomer adds, "But I also met the guy standing next to me, and he was pretty cool, so we became friends," he recaps.

Pollination Tech #9 nods in agreement. "This season we're participating in this race because I for one, enjoy travelling, and even though I'm getting up there in age, I still have a lot of spunk left in these bones!"

Ajay cracks a smile, a bizarre look on his face. "Well, alright then."

…

"Now that all the intros are over with, let's say hello to our seven teams!" the Unsavory Charlatan announces, standing in the center of a nearly empty desert. The host gestures his arm out to the side, towards the large wooden entry way; a bright yellow mat laying down in the sand in front of him. He smiles and gazes down at the notecards that are in his hands. "Vidcund and Loki! Crystal and Nervous! Circe and Erin!" he shouts, watching as each of the pairs run onto the desert and take their place on the yellow mat. "Death and Kristen! Jenny and Olive! PT and Ajay!" he continues, three more pairs racing out the tunnel.

The Unsavory Charlatan flips his final notecard over. "And finally, Lazlo and Pascal!" he shouts, turning back towards the tunnel, "Wait? _Pascal_?!" he repeats, throwing his notecard down as Pascal races out of the tunnel with Lazlo. Pascal stops to wave to the cameras. "Pascal!" the host narrows his eyes at him as he storms over to the mad scientist. "What the hell are you doing here?! I thought you had surgery!"

"I did," Pascal replies, turning towards the host, his mouth stuffed with gauze, "I even performed it myself!"

The Unsavory Charlatan shakes his head, clearly dumbfounded. "But you weren't supposed to – Wait, did you just say that you performed the surgery on yourself?"

"Well, yeah," Pascal responds, "I am a _mad_ scientist."

"Believe me, I never questioned why the word 'mad' was in your job title," the host mutters, "But I still don't understand. I mean, don't you _need_ to recover?"

Pascal rolls his eyes. "Psh! And miss another season where I annoy you with my very existence? _As if_!" he huffs, crossing his arms over his torso. "Now, are those oranges for the crew or are they for everyone?" he wonders, pointing to the buffet table situated behind the cameras.

The host's face slumps. "They're for the crew," he groans.

"-Too late!" Pascal races over to the table, grabs an orange, and attempts to fit it inside his mouth; all the other contestants watching him intriguingly. Pascal squeezes down on the orange, causing some of the juice to squirt out. "Oh God! It burns!" he screams.

The Unsavory Charlatan groans and shakes his head, his eyes to the floor. "This is going to be a _long_ season."

"I'll say!" Pascal seconds, throwing the orange down on the ground and squishing it with his shoe. He rejoins the group on the bright yellow mat. "Ooh! I know what'll pass the time! We can have everyone join my new internship program!" he exclaims, "Now, I can't afford to pay anyone, cause I don't want to, but all interns get a free burrito every twenty-four hours! This week's flavor is apple cinnamon!" Pascal beams, enthusiastically taking the box out from behind his back and holding it up to the others. Several of the contestants look disgusted.

"Who supplies the burritos?" Vidcund wonders.

Pascal nudges his brother in the side, "-Government," he answers, "But overall, it's a very worthwhile internship. You get to see my scientific brain in action!" Pascal reiterates.

Loki crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. "Psh, if people want to see me in action, they gotta pay money for it."

Vidcund slaps his forehead. "Oh God. You do realize how wrong that sounded, right?"

"Relax, I didn't mean you," Loki reassures him.

The Unsavory Charlatan steps forward, eyeing Pascal and Loki who are both standing next to Vidcund. He shakes his head lightly before sympathetically gazing at the plant biologist. "I don't know how you live with this every day," he states. "Well, much to my disliking, Pascal is here after all, which means we will still be having seven teams this season," the host informs the contestants, "But unfortunately, because we thought Pascal wasn't going to be on the show, we scrapped the intro video of him and Lazlo."

"Oh, that's okay, we made our own!" Pascal reaches into his pocket and holds out a DVD to the host.

The Unsavory Charlatan gazes down at the disc, a look of disappointment spread across his face. "That's great," he begins, "But we don't have a disc drive."

"No problem! I emailed it to the company," Pascal replies.

"Uh…someone hacked our email," the host counters.

Pascal shrugs. "That's totally fine, I have it on a memory stick!" the mad scientist reaches into his pocket once more and holds the USP drive out to the host.

The Unsavory Charlatan gazes down at the memory stick and sighs. "You're prepared to do this all day until we show this thing, aren't you?"

Pascal nods matter-of-factly. "Mmhm."

"Fine! Give me that!" the Unsavory Charlatan gives in, snatching the USP drive from Pascal and putting it into a nearby laptop. The video starts to play.

A raw beef patty is shown sizzling on a grill. A large spatula appears onscreen, flips the patty over, and presses down on it; the food sizzles once more. "Tax exemption!" Pascal shouts off-camera. The scene fades to black.

The Unsavory Charlatan turns and glares at the mad scientist, who is still staring excitedly at the screen. Pascal smiles and crosses his arms. "You know, it took twenty takes to get that shot. I really think it symbolizes the fall of modern society…"

"I think it shows that you're a nut," the host grumbles, reluctantly handing the memory card back to Pascal. "That video didn't introduce anyone. Lazlo wasn't even in it!" the Unsavory Charlatan exclaims.

"Yeah, he was. He was the one flipping the patty!" Pascal replies.

The Unsavory Charlatan facepalms and slides his hand down to his chin. "So, let me get this straight, you came on the show to display footage of a barbecue grill on national television?"

"Hey, someone had to be Lazlo's partner; showing symbolic hamburger footage was just an added bonus!" Pascal chimes.

The Unsavory Charlatan steps back and shakes his head a few times, grumbling to himself. After a few moments, he turns to the rest of the contestants and sighs. "Anyway, hello everyone and welcome to The Amazing Chase!"

Pascal tilts his forehead, "Don't you mean The Amazing Ra-?"

"-No!" the Unsavory Charlatan quickly interrupts him, "This is an entirely different show and any similarities of this show to any others already in existence is completely coincidental," he spews, "Now, today on The Amazing Race – _dammit_! Fine, this is The Amazing Race, are you happy?" the Unsavory Charlatan asks, narrowing his eyes at Pascal.

"Quite," Pascal beams.

"Before we get started, let me explain how this game works," the Unsavory Charlatan begins, pacing in front of the residents, "As you can clearly see, all fourteen of you have been grouped into pairs of two. Over these next four weeks, we will travel across the Simverse, visiting various towns. Each town represents one leg of the race. At the beginning of each race, we will meet up – much like this – and I will give you information on the neighborhood that we are visiting, as well as tell you where the task station is," he explains, "Whichever pair arrives at the station first gets first choice at the tasks. 'A task' is a small mission in the neighborhood that you must accomplish before we leave the area. Any pair who fails to complete their task in the designated timeframe risks being eliminated. Teams can be penalized time for not completing their tasks or for various other things that are laid out on the back of the task cards," the host states, taking out a sample task card and flipping it over to show the contestants.

"Now, if everyone completes their task in time, then the last team to arrive at the neighborhood's entrance or 'Pit Stop' will be eliminated, assuming no other pair was penalized enough to top the last place finishers' arrival time," the Unsavory Charlatan explains, clasping his hands together behind his back, "This season, this game will answer the question of which relationship is the best."

"-Well that's easy, ours," Loki speaks up, gesturing to himself and Vidcund.

The Unsavory Charlatan bursts into laughter. "Haha, oh Loki!" the host cries, wiping a single tear away from his eye, "You two probably won't even be together by the end of this! We all know you have intimacy issues."

"What? No, I don't. Who said that?" Loki says, frantically scanning the crowd, "I'll sleep with them to prove a point!"

Vidcund groans and cowers a bit, covering his face with his hand. "Oh God…" he moans.

"Wait! I forgot to mention the best part – the eliminations," the Unsavory Charlatan remarks, turning back towards the other contestants, "You see, there are seven pairs right now, but only three pairs will be lucky enough to make the finale. The elimination legs are completely random, so you have no idea going in if anyone is going to be eliminated at the end of that leg. Leg ten is the last leg of the race, and whoever completes their task and finishes first wins The Amazing Race: Strangetown Edition, and the winning pair will be awarded one million simoleons."

"Wow, what a prize!" Pascal awes, bringing his hand up to his chin in a ponder, "Actually, now that I think about it, did I ever get that money…?"

The Unsavory Charlatan shifts his eyes and quickly claps his hands together. "Okay, in the hopes of preventing stupid guesses about the relationship theme, you all get one chance to guess what pair title you were assigned," he tells them.

Circe raises her hand slightly. "Well, I don't know what we are, but I'm guessing those two are the vomit-inducing pair," Circe claims, pointing deviously at Vidcund and Loki.

Nearby, Loki nudges Vidcund in the side, sporting a rather large smile on his face. "-That's the nicest thing she's ever said to me."

"Ooh!" Pascal hops next to Lazlo, "Are we the hot pair?" he asks the host.

"No, no. Obviously, you're the head-cases, Circe and Erin are the 'associated with greatness' pair, Crystal and Nervous are the friendzoned pair, Olive and Jenny are the 'past their prime' pair, Death and Kristen are the athletic super-humans, and Pollination Tech #9 and Ajay are the 'who the hell are those guys?' pair," Loki names off, "-And that just leaves the two of us, and we're clearly beauty and the beast," Loki states, gesturing to himself and Vidcund.

The Unsavory Charlatan stops and stares at Loki, a rather weirded-out expression on his face. "Uh…no. That's not even close," he says suddenly. "Pascal and Lazlo are the brothers, Circe and Erin are the sister-in-laws, Crystal and Nervous are the roommates, Olive and Jenny are the mothers, Death and Kristen are the acquaintances, Pollination Tech #9 and Ajay are the friends, and you and Vidcund are the lovers."

"Lovers?" Loki cringes, "Geesh, that's assuming a lot, don't you think?"

The Unsavory Charlatan sighs and rubs his aching forehead. He clears his throat and turns back to the contestants. "Welcome to Leg One: La Fiesta Technical University!" the host reveals, "This university, established in 1924, is home to over one hundred sims. Like the deserts of its neighboring city, Strangetown, it's filled with many mysteries such as the normal-looking alien and the cafeteria that only serves macaroni," he continues, "This is also the place where our very own Circe Salamis, got her first college degree!"

"Thank you," Circe beams, crossing her arms in front of her torso, "It took two years, then I went to Sim State with these bozos," she claims, pointing to Loki and the Curious brothers.

"Excellent," the host replies, playing with his hands, "Now, since we're already twenty minutes behind schedule – thanks to Pascal," he mutters, glaring at the mad scientist, "I've decided to just randomly give each of the pairs a task, which the crew members already taped on the back of one member of each team," he reveals, "You must complete the task and return to this Pit Stop before sundown tomorrow. Good luck and get started, I will see you then!" the Unsavory Charlatan announces, backing away from the contestants and gesturing out towards the lavish deserts of La Fiesta Tech University.

All of the contestants turn to their partners and start looking over their task sheet. "It says here that we need to go to some place called Oresha-Hoh-Var," Jenny tells Olive, reading the lime green card over.

Olive nods. "Alright, lead the way!"

Nearby, Vidcund watches as all the other pairs start heading across town. He groans as he struggles to get the task card off his back. "Why did anyone think this was a good idea?" Vidcund moans.

Loki rips the card off Vidcund's back and reads it over. "So apparently, we're supposed to go to that white house over there," Loki says, pointing to the small white-painted rectangular house down the street.

"You mean the shady-looking one?" Vidcund wonders, adjusting his glasses; Loki nods. "-Of course," he groans.


	2. Episode 1: La Fiesta Tech, Day 1

**The Amazing Race: Strangetown Edition**

 **Leg One –** _La Fiesta Tech_

 _Brothers – Day 1_

"Whoo! College!" Pascal cheers, throwing his arms up as they step onto 116 Aridestra Drive. "I haven't been here since we tried to start that scientific skunk club."

"Yeah," Lazlo sighs, clearly reminiscing, "Remember how mad the dean was when Stinky vomited on his shirt? He almost took Stinky's degree away," Lazlo states as he stops on the front porch of the residence. Pascal rings the doorbell.

A tall brown-haired female with a scarlet tank top and blue jeans answers the door. "Yes…?" she replies, cautiously scanning the pair over.

"Hey, I'm Pascal and this is Lazlo," Pascal begins, giving a small wave, "And we're supposed to help the-" Pascal pauses and squints down at the card, "-Shitting Paragraphs win the Battle of the Bands tomorrow, so…do you know who or what a Shitting Paragraph is? I mean, I think I know what it is, but I'm kind of scared to see it in person."

The young adult sighs and rolls her eyes. "The _Shifting Paradymes_ is my band. I'm Jasmine Rai, leader of the most successful band on campus," she greets, stepping towards the brothers. "Normally, I would throw you out for disrespecting the band name, but we are looking to expand the band and you two look like major dorks that are loaded with skill points, so I think I'll reconsider just this once," Jasmine says, stepping further into the house, "Come on, you can help us write our new song!"

Pascal and Lazlo turn to each other and shrug before following Jasmine into the house. They walk into the living room, where the other two bandmates are situated. The male member is holding an electronic guitar and the other female member is studying on the couch. Jasmine turns to her bandmates and smiles.

"Guys, I found these two nerds on our doorstep. They said they're going to help us win Battle of the Bands!"

"What the hell happened to that guy's mouth?" Gunnar, the leader guitarist, speaks up, staring at Pascal.

Pascal laughs and pulls one of the gauze out of his mouth. "Oh, I gave myself surgery yesterday," he answers, "So, you guys must be the other members of the Spatting Parameters," Pascal awes; the band members scrunch their eyebrows at this news, "This is great! Now we can get started on our award-winning song!" Pascal exclaims, grabbing the guitar from Gunnar's clutches.

"Wait just a minute here!" Gunnar speaks, standing up from his spot. "Do you guys even have any musical abilities?"

"Sure we do, check it out!" Pascal exclaims, racing over to the corner of the room and grabbing the violin. The band mates watch wondrously as Pascal takes off his shoes and socks and sits down on the floor. He holds the violin with one foot and the bow with the other and starts playing a jazzy melody.

"Whoa," Jasmine awes, "If you're that good playing with your feet, imagine how good you sound with your hands!"

"-Oh, I can't play with my hands," Pascal answers, placing the bow down, "My hands are occupied! How else am I going to eat tacos, play the violin, and do dangerous scientific experiments all at the same time?"

Zoe stares at Pascal strangely before turning to the younger scientist. "How about you, tiny? What can you do?" she asks.

"Well, I'm great at creative innovation," Lazlo reveals, "For example, how about instead of a traditional rock song, we do a freestyle for the competition? Observe-" Lazlo takes a step back and starts waving his hand around. "Oh! My name's Lazlo and I eat rye, and I love to recite pi-3.14195-"

Jasmine moves Lazlo's hand down and shakes her head sternly as Pascal cheers for him in the background. " _Never_ do that again."

"Aww!" Lazlo groans, slumping his shoulders.

Pascal walks over to him. "Don't feel bad, Lazlo, she was probably just scared away by how good that was."

"Are you the older brother?" Jasmine asks Pascal; he nods, "I can tell." Jasmine turns to the rest of the group and claps her hands. "Alright everyone, we have to clean this place up for the kegger party tonight."

"But what about the new song?" Lazlo speaks up behind her.

Zoe closes her book and shrugs her shoulders. "Eh, we tend to write and perform the songs the morning of the competition, it's actually one of our greatest traditions. Now grab a brush and let's get going!"

Three hours later, Pascal and Lazlo find themselves in the center of a roaring college party. The pair stand in the foyer watching as dozens of college students enter the house and start partying to the blaring stereo music. Lazlo backs into the corner of the living room, feeling rather awkward and out of place.

"I don't know, Pascal, I don't think we should be here," Lazlo states, "I mean, what do we know about college parties? We spent most of our college careers in the lab!" he says, taking a few mini hot dogs from the tray on the nearby end table and shoving him into his mouth.

"Well, I've found in life that the best way to enjoy an experience is to fully immerse yourself into it. That's how I taught you and Vidcund how to swim and subsequently, how I learned CPR…" Pascal quickly tacks on, shifting his eyes, "The point is, in order to get the most out of this experience, we must do every activity that we've ever seen in all the college movies that we watched on pay-per-view. Watch and learn," Pascal instructs.

Pascal slowly stands up on the end table and throws his arms up towards the ceiling. "PAR-TAY!" he screams at the top of his lungs; all the college students in the room turn to him and immediately erupt into applause. Pascal looks down at Lazlo and cocks his forehead. 'See?' he mouths.

One of the college townies walks over to Pascal. "Hey dude, you wanna do the keg challenge?"

"Yeah, sure, okay," Pascal chimes, jumping down from the end table and walking over to the crowd of rowdy young adults, Lazlo lingering behind him.

"Chug, chug, chug!" the young adults chant as Pascal starts downing the juice.

Fifteen minutes later, he finishes and smashes the empty keg bottle against his forehead. "Whoo! College rocks!" Pascal cheers, fist pumping with the crowd.

A short while later, Lazlo, Pascal, and the rest of the Shifting Paradymes are sitting in a circle in the center of one of the upstairs bedrooms. "Oh man, I'm seeing colors!" Pascal whines, holding the sides of his face.

"Just lay low for a while. Nobody spiked the juice tonight, so you should be fine," Jasmine tells him. "As everyone knows, we perform tomorrow, so it's time for our traditional band-bonding circle," she states, "Here's how it works: we all go around the circle and reveal one thing that we wish we could improve about our lives, then the other band members offer advice to help us. We find that this brings us closer as a group and thus, makes us perform better," Jasmine informs the Curious brothers, "So, I'll go first. I wish that I had the confidence to go for things that I really want. It just seems like every time I get close to achieving success, I fall short."

"Jasmine, I don't think you lack confidence," Zoe speaks up across the circle, "I think you don't trust in yourself enough to achieve these things," Zoe answers honestly, "Just push aside all of those negative feelings and focus on the task at hand. As long as you put forth your best effort into the things you care about, you won't fail yourself."

Jasmine smiles, "Thanks Zoe," she beams before turning to the eldest Curious brother, "Pascal, you're next. Name one thing you wish you could improve in your life."

"Gosh, only one thing?" Pascal responds, tapping his hand against his chin, "It's so hard to choose…" he ponders, moving his legs up. "Well, if I had to pick one thing, it would be my inability to maintain an adequate love life," Pascal confesses, "I've dated a few people over the years, but it's been a while since I've actually had a relationship. To tell you the truth, I don't think I remember how to date."

"You can always call the Gypsy Matchmaker," Gunnar suggests, "That chick can find you a match for the right price."

"Yeah, but I don't know, I'm kind of picky," Pascal elaborates, "Plus, I have a kid now, so I don't have a lot of time for those sorts of things."

"Gee Pascal, I never knew you actually wanted a relationship," Lazlo speaks up next to him, "I always thought you liked being single," he confesses.

Pascal turns to Lazlo and nods. "Oh, I do," Pascal says, "But, you know, sometimes I get kind of lonely."

"Zoe, you're next," Jasmine quickly changes the subject, noticing Lazlo's expression sadden across the circle.

Zoe nods and continues. "Well, I've been spending a lot of time focusing on my studies, but sometimes I think I just need to take a step back and hang out with the band some more," Zoe reveals, "I mean, I'm only a freshman and I've already got three gray hairs. This university is stressing me out!"

"Well, it sounds like you have the right idea," Jasmine replies, "Just take some time to yourself to relax. And yes, you should definitely hang out with Gunnar and I some more," she adds. Jasmine turns to the lead guitarist. "Speaking of which, what's your improvement?"

"I don't know," Gunnar shrugs, "I've already got the chords and the skills and the babes, so I think I'm pretty satisfied with my life."

Jasmine rolls her eyes. "Alright then, Lazlo, you're last up. What about you? What do you want to improve in your life?"

Lazlo sighs and looks up at the ceiling. "Um…I don't know what I want," he states.

"Come on Lazlo, you gotta know. You must want something," Zoe speaks up next to him.

"No, I don't know," Lazlo responds, "How would I know? It seems like everything is always decided for me," he confesses.

"So you want to be an individual?" Jasmine proposes.

Lazlo shakes his head. "No, I just want to be someone worth knowing."

"You are someone worth knowing, Lazlo," Pascal assures him, "Everyone in the city loves you – well except Loki, but he's a grinch, so I wouldn't sweat over it."

"-Not Crystal," Lazlo says, staring into the center of the circle. "She doesn't love me."

"Are you kidding? Of course, she does!"

"No, she doesn't. Not anymore," Lazlo sighs, "Something's changed in her, I can tell. I get the sense she's keeping something from me," Lazlo spews out, slowly standing up from his spot on the carpet. "Well, this was great. Thanks for the talk everybody," Lazlo states, stretching his arms out a bit before exiting into the hallway, leaving the other band members in silence.

Jasmine scans the circle, stopping on Pascal, who is cradling his head in his hands; his face filled with worry. "Cheer up, Pascal, I'm sure things will work out for you guys," Jasmine adds, giving a small smile to the mad scientist, "Now let's try to get some sleep, we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow."

 _Acquaintances – Day 1_

"Alright. Here we are: 57 Dusty Drive," Kristen states, stopping in front of the tiny box-shaped house, map in hand. The Grim Reaper floats up next to her and holds his scythe in the air as they both admire the residence. "It's not bad for student housing," she comments, "It actually has a floor!"

"Oh yeah," the Grim Reaper nods, staring through the window, "You know, this actually reminds me of my college days."

" _You_ went to college?"

"Of course. It was back in the eighties when Styx was still releasing albums," he tells her, staring up at the sky admiringly. "There I was in Frear Hall with my luscious auburn locks and killer gladiator shades. I was quite the catch back then," the Grim Reaper comments before giving a small sigh, "Then I graduated, and my job in Human Resources took a dark turn," he briefly laments before giving his head a shake. "But enough about me, what's our task card say?"

"It says here that we have to help three students experience the power of friendship," Kristen replies, squinting as she reads the card. "Well, this could either be a walk in the park or a total nightmare," she comments, slipping the task card back into her pocket.

Grim Reaper nods as he and Kristen walk up the narrowly painted pathway only to be greeted by a crowd of terrified college students shrieking at the top of their lungs. They race off the lot, fleeing the scene, several of them shouting Death's name.

"I think I'm starting to see the drawbacks of being partners with you," Kristen speaks up, her face slightly stunned.

"Eh, it'll pass," the Grim Reaper assures her, "Soon their fear of me will turn into a rather creepy obsession," he states, accidentally knocking his scythe into a bush. The bush instantly shrivels up and dies. "Whoops," he laughs as a few more terrified sims race past them. One of the sims knocks into Death's shoulder, causing a scroll to fall out of his pocket. It rolls out towards Kristen. "Don't touch that!" the Grim Reaper yells, the young woman already crouching down on the floor to grab it.

"Why not?"

"Because it's classified information," the Grim Reaper answers, quickly snatching the ancient scroll up with his boney hand. "This is the official Scroll of Death," he tells her, "It tells the reader who is going to die next and when, it's something that sensitive mortal eyes can't handle."

Kristen rolls her eyes and stands up in front of him. "Come on, I'm sure I can handle it! I live in Strangetown after all."

"No, it's too dangerous. Having an unauthorized sim take a peek could ruin the entire system," the Grim Reaper firmly states, pushing the scroll back into his pocket, "Now let's find those three individuals and force them to become friends with each other!"

Kristen watches as the Grim Reaper impatiently floats into the house before slowly edging in after him. They stop in the main archway and stare into the living room, where three students are busy working on their homework, each of them confined to their own separate corner of the room. The Grim Reaper floats over to the short, black-haired young woman who is reading on the couch, her long-flowing skirt covering up half of the piece of furniture. She puts down her book and smiles when she sees the newcomers.

"Hey, I'm Blossom!" the girl greets, shifting her legs to the floor and sitting up on the center cushion, "I'm super excited to meet you guys. You must be Death and Kristen," she notes, her bright smile lighting up the room.

"Uh…yeah," Kristen states, unable to believe how nice this girl is being in the presence of the Grim Reaper. "Are these your housemates?" she wonders, gesturing over to the short, brown-haired girl and the guy wearing a sweater vest that are studying across the room.

Blossom nods. "Yeah," she says, "William! Klara! Come on over!" she hollers. The two students put down their study materials and join them in the center of the room.

"Gosh Blossom, what is it? I have to study for my finals next month!" William complains, sweat-dropping when he finds himself face-to-face with the Grim Reaper. "Whoa! Death is here?! Man, you gotta show us your superpowers!" he awes.

"Yes," Klara agrees, pulling her shades down to look the NPC over, "I've read about your incredible abilities in books. Is it true you can detect both death _and_ life?" she wonders.

"Er, yes," the Grim Reaper states, not used to all this positive attention, "I can detect a life form as early as conception," he states, turning towards Kristen, "In fact, one of the girls that ran past us on our way over here was pregnant," he informs her, Kristen raising her eyebrow, "Usually my head aches when there's a baby around," the Grim Reaper says, redirecting his attention to the three housemates, "So, you guys are housemates, huh?" he asks, "You know, the best way to spark a friendship between housemates is to find a common interest among them. So, what do you guys like to do?"

"Catch butterflies!" Blossom beams.

"Drink fifteen cups of coffee," Klara adds.

"Study in my underwear!" William remarks.

The Grim Reaper shakes his hands in front of his torso. "Okay, we are definitely not doing that one!" he tells William before turning back to the group, "But I think we'll be able to combine the other two activities together. So, why don't we drink coffee in the backyard garden?" he suggests, gesturing towards the open double doors.

The three housemates eye the natural setting before turning back to him with a shrug. "Works for me," Klara states, reaching over to the wooden end table and grabbing her biggest coffee mug.

"Great," the Grim Reaper huffs, moving down slightly, "Why don't you guys gather up some supplies and we'll meet you out there in five minutes?"

"Okay!" Blossom responds, the smile not leaving her face since the team arrived there. "Come on guys!" she tells her housemates, retrieving the purple coffee machine from behind the couch. They exit the room and head towards the garden.

The Grim Reaper groans and plops himself down onto the couch. He sighs as he slouches down towards the ground, staring down at the concrete floorboard.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Kristen wonders, cautiously stepping towards the being. "You seem kind of down."

"Your observation is correct; I am down," he confirms, speaking rather robotically, "But I am afraid my sadness is a result of a problem that you would not understand," he states, staring down at his boney fingertips. Kristen sits down next to him on the daisy-patterned, lush green couch and gazes up at him wondrously. "But in what little I know about you already, I can tell that this answer is not good enough."

The Grim Reaper sighs and starts playing with his hands, Kristen's attention still focused solely on him. "Well, since your body language makes it clear you're not going to leave without an answer, I may as well tell you the truth. This may be surprising to you, but I was once a sim myself, who gave up my own human life to seek immortality," he explains, staring up at the wall, "Because of my background in Human Resources, I discovered that in this Simverse the position of Death is always bestowed upon the most ruthless sim in the city," he states, "And when I became just that, I was granted immortality."

"So, you want to go back to being human again?" Kristen guesses.

"No. Oh no, that would be a tumultuous idea," the Grim Reaper speaks up once more, "The consequences would be so enormous, I can't even imagine what would happen to the world," he comments, "But because the role of Death is determined by an easily-influenced factor, I have to constantly worry about someone ruthlessly rising up and taking my place. And up until now, no one's even come close to reaching my level," he continues, staring down at the blank television, "A few days ago, I got word from my advisors that someone else in our neighborhood is only one notch away from taking my title. If they surpass me, they will become the new death, and I will become human once more."

"Wow, sounds rough," Kristen remarks, still staring at him understandingly, "Isn't there anything you can do to stop it?" she asks.

The Grim Reaper releases yet another heavy sigh. "As of now, the only way to ensure that I keep my immortality is to stop this sim from beating me by rehumanizing them through death," he notes, "I was able to do it before with Olive, using her undying love for me."

"Okay," Kristen nods, "Then why don't you just seduce this other person into loving you too?" she wonders.

The Grim Reaper shakes his head. "I'm afraid this circumstance is not as simple as you think," he claims, sitting up in his seat, "Now, we should probably resume the mission. I do not wish to be eliminated tomorrow," he adds, floating towards the garden at top speed, the impact of the wind causing the ancient scroll to fly out of his pocket once again.

"Death, wait! You dropped something-" Kristen gets up, stopping in her tracks when she eyes the Scroll of the Death sprawled out on the concrete floor near the door. Kristen sneaks over to the scroll, gazing out the doorway briefly before bending over and picking up the forbidden item. She crouches down on the floor of the nearby bathroom and unrolls it, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Kristen holds the paper open on both sides and reads the text that is written in black calligraphy. "'Next to die'," she mutters to myself, her eyes shifting to the name that is written in cursive below the heading line, "'Loki Beaker, tomorrow'?" she repeats. Kristen slowly gazes up from the piece of parchment, her face filled with horror.

 _Sister-in-Laws – Day 1_

"I have a good feeling about this, Erin," Circe tells the young adult as they walk down the street to their La Fiesta Tech destination, "I think you and I can really go far in this thing. We're both the perfect amount of crazy and ruthless," she comments, flashing a smirk. "Alright. Let's beat these losers at their own game!" Circe declares, eagerly rubbing her palms together as she and Erin arrive at the base of a gigantic, gray and white, fourteen-room dormitory.

Circe and Erin step into the building, immediately greeted by the sound of punches down the hallway. Erin turns to Circe, raising her eyebrow in confusion. "Spirits?" she wonders.

"Nah, probably college kids," Circe states, giving her eyes a roll as they head towards the other room. Around them, the air is growing dusty and the sound of chanting young adults becomes clear. Circe and Erin stop in their tracks only to find two students brawling in the center of the main living space, a crowd of students shouting words of encouragement from around the fight circle.

"Get him, Almeric!" one of the townie students yells.

"No Aldric, punch him!" another student replies.

Circe groans and pushes her way to the front of the circle, having had enough. "Alright, break it up you two! We have a very important mission to complete, and we don't need you losers causing a distraction," she states, pulling the pair apart. The two previously feuding individuals fall on their butts and groan, a few of the students around them grumbling their disappointments behind them. "Now," Circe begins, doing her best to regain her composure, "Do either of you two messes happen to know where the Davis brothers are?" she asks, taking a glance at their task card.

Almeric and Aldric turn to each other, strange looks forming on their faces. "Uh, that's us," the younger brother, Aldric, responds.

Circe sighs and facepalms. "Of course!" she grumbles.

Erin smiles and steps forward, waving to the brothers. "Hey Davis brothers, I'm Erin!" she cheerily greets, staring down at the pair in question before taking a quick glance at the task assignment, "So, uh…do you guys feel closer as brothers?"

"I don't have time for this," Almeric remarks, standing up and brushing the dirt off his varsity jacket, "I have to see Janet," he states, pointing his thumb to his chest.

"Like hell you're seeing Janet, she's my crush!" Aldric replies, getting up from the ground and storming over to his brother. He crosses his arms in a pout.

"She is not your crush! I've liked her way longer than you!" Almeric shouts, getting up in his brother's face. Nearby, Circe and Erin are awkwardly watching their every move.

Circe shakes her head and tisks in pity. "Man, two brothers fighting over the same girl," she states, "Now where have I seen that before?" she rolls her eyes and steps over to the Davis brothers, who are now in the middle of a screaming match, "Come on guys, this is just sad."

"Please! You don't even know sad," Almeric proclaims, folding his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes at the scientist. Aldric stops what he is doing and joins him.

"Oh, I don't know sad, huh?" Circe says, moving towards the college students challengingly, "A few months ago, my husband caught me in bed with my ex-boyfriend. My husband screamed, 'How could you betray me like this?!', and he wasn't talking to me!"

"Geesh, that is sad," Almeric mutters, his eyes trailing to the floor. He gives a small sigh and gazes up at the two women. "Look guys, I appreciate the thought, but Aldric and I are never going to get along," he tells them, "Especially since he won't find his own girl!"

"Of course, here we go again!" Aldric exclaims, throwing his arms out as he stares up at the ceiling, "Listen dorkus, you're not Janet's type, okay? She's too classy for a sleazy guy like you!"

"Really, I'm sleazy? Have you looked in the mirror lately?" Almeric counters. The pair burst into another arguing fit.

Circe and Erin exchange troubled glances before Erin steps forward, gesturing her hands down towards the ground. "Guys, guys, calm down," she states soothingly, stepping in between the brothers, "There's no need to be fighting over a woman, it's all predetermined anyway," she states, grabbing Almeric's arm and turning it over. The young man freezes, somewhat weirded out by Erin's actions as she bends down and starts sniffing his forearm. Erin takes a rather large inhale and breathes in the scent. She stands up straight, staring ponderously at the wall for a moment before locking eyes with the eldest brother to give him the result. "Yeah, Janet's not going to date you," she concludes, "She doesn't want to be your girlfriend."

Almeric pulls his arm away and rubs it, still staring bizarrely at the young woman. "You got all that from smelling my arm?"

Erin nods. "Yeah, I'm a professional psychic after all. Oh! And you should really take a shower," she adds before turning her attentions to his twin brother. "Okay, now you, Aldric."

Aldric shifts his eyes as he warily sticks his arm out. Erin grabs him by the wrist and bicep and takes a long, drawn-out lick of his forearm. Aldric widens his eyes as Erin stands up straight once more, analyzing the taste on her tongue. Behind her, Circe remains unfazed by Erin's tactics.

"Uh, why did you lick me, but sniff my brother?" Aldric wonders.

"Cause you actually took a shower today, unlike someone I know!" Erin remarks, turning to Almeric and sporting a glare. Erin turns back to Aldric, the spirits speaking to her for the second time that hour. "Yeah, you're not dating her either," Erin concludes, reaching into her mouth and removing one of Aldric's short arm hairs. "Man, being a psychic is hard work!"

"Okay, not to sound mean, but please don't ever do that again," Aldric says, still staring at Erin bizarrely with his brother. "I'm going to go to the cafeteria to wash off my arm now-hey!" Aldric chimes when Almeric pulls him back by the shoulder.

"No way!" Almeric shouts, "You only want to go to the cafeteria cause that's where Janet works!"

"Maybe," Aldric states boldly, "Or maybe I just want to get away from all you mental patients!" he argues.

Almeric growls and releases his brother, throwing his arm down in a huff. "Oh that's real mature, calling me crazy in front of the crazy people! You're lucky Janet didn't hear you, or else you'd be in some real trouble!" he screams, Circe boiling up behind him.

"Oh, that's it!" she outbursts, gesturing at the brothers, "You two nincompoops are hopeless! I think it's time I talk to this Janet lady myself!"

The brothers freeze in place, looks of pure horror on their faces as Circe blazes over to the black and white tiled kitchen, Erin cautiously trailing her. Circe stops in the doorway and scans the room, finding only an elderly lunch lady scrubbing one of the beat-up, old tables with a dishrag.

"You have got to be kidding me," Circe speaks, "All that fighting and she's not even here!" she proclaims, the two brothers finally catching up with her.

"What are you talking about? She's right over there!" Almeric exclaims, gesturing over to the corner table and letting out an adoring sigh.

"Where?" Circe questions, narrowing in on the table, "All I see is that old lady!" she declares. Behind her, Aldric moans and sighs lovingly as well. Circe turns and stares at the brothers before turning back around to follow their lines of vision, which both land squarely on the elderly lunch lady. " _That's_ Janet?" Circe discovers, as a drop of drool falls from Almeric's mouth onto the linoleum floor, "She's like eighty years old!"

"-Eighty-one," Almeric corrects her, "And she's every bit of a woman!"

"What does that even mean?!" Circe yells, her forehead fuming, "No part of this makes any ounce of sense! I feel like I'm living in a nuthouse here! I mean, you know it's bad when Erin seems like the normal one-" Circe explains. She turns to the right, finding her teammate gone. "Hey! Where'd she go?"

Across the room, Erin is standing next to Janet, leaning her ear up against the elderly woman's silver hair. Janet stops mopping the table and uneasily stares at the youngin'. "Uh, may I help you, dearie?"

"Shh!" Erin hushes, silencing the old woman with her hand, "The spirits in your hair are talking to me! They said you had chili yesterday."

"I did…" Janet replies, suddenly even more weirded out by Erin than she was before; something she didn't think was possible. "What did you say your name was?"

"Erin!" Erin shouts overexcitedly, causing the old woman to shriek and duck for cover underneath the table. "Sorry," Erin replies, leaning down to stare at the semi-concealed Janet, "I don't really have an indoor voice. That kind of thing doesn't run in my family."

The Davis brothers and Circe quickly race over to them. Within minutes, Almeric and Aldric get into a shoving match over who gets to help Janet out from underneath the table. Circe shakes her head, finding this whole display rather pathetic.

"Man, we really have our work cut out for us," Circe tells her partner. She turns to the side only to find Erin licking yet another student's arm a few feet away from the cafeteria entrance, "Okay, scratch that, I have my work cut out for me," she corrects, staring up at the ceiling for what felt like the millionth time that day.

 _Mothers – Day 1_

"Well, this must be it," Olive states as she and Jenny arrive at the front porch of the two-story Oresha-Hoh-Var fraternity house. A young man with dark brown braids, who is busying watering one of the bushes out front, smiles and waves when he sees them.

"Hey, I'm Guy," the student greets, using his hand as a son blocker as the two women approach him, "You guys must be Jenny and Olive," he states, "Welcome to Oresha-Hoh-Var! My great-grandfather actually founded this fraternity many years ago. Come on in, I'll show you around," he offers, gesturing Jenny and Olive to the front door.

The mothers look to each other and shrug. "Well, that was easy," Jenny says, following behind him.

Guy leads them into the gigantic fraternity house and travels into the living room. "This is the living room," Guy tells Jenny and Olive, holding his hands up in presentation, "As you can see, the selling feature here is our gigantic wide-screen TV," Guy begins, "but we also have a killer bar."

Jenny and Olive turn to the side, eyeing the item in question, which is covered with juice stains and week-old vomit. "Ew," Olive mutters.

"Hey Sarah!" a young, tall brown-haired man greets, walking over to Jenny and holding his arms out to hug her. She turns around, surprised by the man's sudden appearance, "Whoa, sorry! From the back, you look like my girlfriend," he explains, putting his arms down.

"This is Matt," Guy says, walking over to his fraternity brother and wrapping his arm around him, "He's a quality housemate if I've ever seen one."

"Hey Guy! Have you seen the kegger?" Guy's second fraternity brother states as he stumbles into the living room, still dressed in his pajamas, "Jess dared me to drink the entire thing before going to class-" he begins, stopping to eye the two newcomers. "Who are the old bats?"

"Old bats?!" Olive cries, stomping over to the man and giving him the stink eye, "I'll have you know I've killed people younger than you!" she shouts, scanning him over from head-to-toe, "-Better looking, too," she adds.

Guy moves forward, quickly stepping between them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down guys, there's no need to get upset," Guy speaks soothingly, "Mickey, apologize to our guests right now."

"Wait a minute, _you're_ Mickey?" Jenny wonders, staring up at the bulky freshman. He nods. "Man, do we have our work cut out for us," she mutters, showing Olive the task card.

Upon reading it, Olive widens her eyes. "Good God! We have to help him earn at least a C on his exam tomorrow? It can't be done!" she declares.

"Sure it can," Jenny smiles, her face filled with newfound determination as she stares up at the confused student, "If I can reorganize a closet in fifteen minutes, then I can do anything! We'll just have to buckle down and study hard!"

Mickey rolls his eyes and stares up at the ceiling, "Pass!" he states, wandering towards the kegger.

Olive grabs him by the shoulder and pulls him back towards the coffee table. "Oh no you don't! Today you're going to do something you probably haven't done once in your life…try!" she exclaims, firmly grasping her hand down on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I don't think-ooh!" Mickey calls, collapsing on the floor. Jenny stares down at Mickey before turning to Olive, confused.

"I don't think we're supposed to use pass-out techniques on the students," Jenny comments.

"Eh, he'll wake up in a few minutes," Olive replies, still staring down at the fainted Mickey smugly, "This will give us time to prepare for the ultimate study session."

 _Five Hours Later_

A newly-revived Mickey is sitting at the kitchen table with Jenny and Olive, the latter of which has tied him down to one of the dining room chairs. "Uh, is all this really necessary?" Mickey wonders as Jenny drops a stack of textbooks in the center of the wooden table. She sighs and rests her hand on it, staring down at the troubled freshman.

"Mickey, you are one bad mark away from ruining your life," Jenny informs him, taking out his class syllabus and scanning it over. "In order to stay in college, you'll have to pass your exam on Academic Arguments, which goes well beyond 'did not, did too,'" Jenny explains, sliding the syllabus in front of him. "Now, let's see your notes."

"My what?"

"Your notes," Jenny repeats, using her best motherly tone, "You did take notes in class, didn't you?"

"Nah, I only went to class when I was drunk," Mickey tells her before awkwardly scanning the area. "Can I go now?"

Olive huffs and storms over to the table, knocking over its entire contents in one shift motion, terrifying the individuals around her. She grabs Mickey by the shirt collar and starts shaking him back and forth.

"Listen junior, I didn't come on this show to get sassed by a future college dropout, so sit down, shut up, and pass this exam so I can go home and sit on my wads!" she barks, pulling him towards her and shooting him a testy glare.

Mickey nods, drops of sweat forming on his forehead. "Alright, alright, just get away from me, you creep!"

Olive releases Mickey's shirt collar and smooths her dress out, seemingly satisfied by his answer. " _That_ I can do," she states, moving to the other side of the table.

Jenny places the textbooks back onto the wooden surface. She hands Mickey a pencil before grabbing the one on top. "Okay, so let's start with the basics," she begins, grabbing a pencil of her own and tapping it delicately against her chin, "What makes a good argument?" she questions.

"Hardcore obscenities?" Mickey guesses.

Jenny shakes her head, "No."

"Hmm," Mickey states, unhooking his arm from the rope hold and rubbing his chin in a ponder, "Ooh! Money!" he concludes, snapping his fingers.

"Once again…no."

"I don't know! A drunken rampage?" Mickey suggests, holding his aching brain.

Jenny sighs and shakes her head before reaching down and opening the textbook in front of Mickey. She points down at it and taps the page. "Mickey, the basis for any good argument is evidence," she tells him, "The more evidence you have to support your argument, the more solid and convincing your argument is. Now, let's try the first question…"

 _Three Hours Later_

"So, how's he doing?" Guy wonders, stepping into the kitchen carrying a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches. Guy stops in place and looks around the room only to find Mickey still slouched over the table, scribbling into his notebook with Jenny half-awake in front of him, while Olive is fast asleep on one of the dining chairs. "Wow, Mickey writing notes?" Guy speaks up, "He must be doing well!"

Mickey nods, dots a few Is, and tears out the sheet of paper from his notebook. "Here," he states, handing it to Jenny. "I think I'm done."

Jenny smiles and sits up in her seat, gently grabbing the piece of notebook paper. She squints down at the sheet, hoping to stay awake for a few minutes longer. Mickey nervously holds his breath while Jenny reads over its contents. "Not bad," she says suddenly, "I'd say this is C worthy."

"Sweet!" Mickey exclaims, jumping up out of his seat and throwing the ropes to the floor. "Well, see ya!"

Hearing these words, Jenny springs wake and races over to him, stopping the young man before he can reach the exit. "Mickey, wait!" she calls out. Mickey turns to face her. "Why settle for the bare minimum when you have so much potential?" Jenny wonders. "Don't you want to be the best sim you can be?"

"Hmm…I don't know," Mickey ponders, tapping his finger against his chin, "Depends on how much work it's going to be," he answers honestly.

"Look Mickey," Jenny sighs, locking eyes with the student, "It's all up to you. Your life starts here," she reiterates, "You can either go back to your old ways of being average, or sit down and do something with your life. Now what is it going to be?"

Mickey stares off into the distance, his mind racing a mile a minute. After a few moments of heavy thinking, the decision becomes clear.

"Chug, chug, chug, chug!" a crowd of college students cheer as Mickey chugs some alcohol straight from the pineapple at a party down the street mere minutes after his discussion with Jenny.

The mom of two storms onto the property and weaves her way into the chanting crowd. Some of the students move out of the way and let her pass them. Jenny steps forward, Mickey in plain view, as she angrily crosses her arms over her torso. "Mickey Dosser, get the hell back to your fraternity! I am not letting you throw your life away at one of these disgusting college parties!" she shouts, eyeing some of the grime encrusted over the plastic pineapple.

"Sorry baby, I'm too busy enjoying my life to care!" Mickey back-sasses taking yet another heavy chug of alcohol.

"Is that so?" Jenny says, shifting her weight and impatiently tapping her foot. "Well, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice…" she trails off, turning towards a shadowed figure. "Get 'em, Olive."

"Rahh!" Olive screams, racing towards the college student with a wooden mallet.

Mickey quickly gets up, his eyes widening like saucers. "What the hell?!" Mickey yells, shrieking as Olive races towards him. Jenny watches as Mickey takes off down the street, Olive chasing after him, leading him back to the fraternity.

"Well, she may not be stable, but she sure gets things done," Jenny comments. Jenny turns to the left only to find the group of formerly-chanting college students all staring at her terrified. She smiles, "Stay in school, kids."

 _Roommates – Day 1_

"116 and 134…here we are!" Crystal exclaims, stopping in front of a beautiful chocolate-colored townhouse, complete with a luxurious swimming pool and tasteful décor. Nervous stops in place and whistles next to her, gazing up at the two-story wonder.

"Man, this is a college residence?" Nervous questions, eyeing the structure from top to bottom, "What kind of college student could afford this?"

"According to this, his name is Frances Worthington III," Crystal answers, scanning over the task card that is in her hands before folding it in half and placing it back into her pocket. "Well, we may as well introduce ourselves and get this ball rolling," she shrugs, walking up the set of sand-colored stairs that leads up to the front porch.

Crystal stops in front of the door, Nervous trailing cautiously behind as she reaches forward and rings the diamond-encrusted doorbell. A few seconds later, a faint rustling sounds from within. Crystal tilts her forehead, clearly confused, as the door creaks open a crack, a young pale-faced college student with jet black hair exposing half of this face to them. The college student scans the two strangers over, his troubled gray eyes filled with uncertainty.

"May I help you…?" he mutters, the glare on his face suggesting he means business.

"Yes," Crystal replies, surprisingly cheery despite this rather odd circumstance, "I'm Crystal, and this is Nervous," she begins, gesturing over to her teammate. Nervous gives a timid wave behind her. "We're here to see Frances, so that we can help him earn enough money to pay his rent this month. Are you him?" she asks.

"Maybe," the student answers, warily scanning the townie over, "What's it to you?"

"Look, we can sit here and play this pointless game with you until we both pass out in boredom, or we move on from all this and help you raise the money to keep you from getting evicted; the choice is yours," she states, crossing her arms challengingly.

Frances swings the door open a tad, his full face in plain view as a twinkle appears in his eyes. "You're a Fortune sim, aren't you?"

"Yes. You can tell?" she wonders.

Frances nods, seemingly impressed by her. "Only Fortune sims talk to me like that," he states, moving his arm back and swinging the front door open completely. "Come on in, I'll show you around."

"Okay," Crystal responds. Crystal turns to Nervous and flashes him a surprised look before the pair steps into the stylish townhouse.

"So this is the kitchen and the dining area," Frances begins, throwing his arms out as he presents the first floor to his guests, "As you can see, there's a lovely view of the desert from every corner of the house," he says, turning towards Crystal and giving her a pompous smile, "This modified kitchen costs over ten thousand simoleons alone and contains remnants from an alien spaceship!"

"Huh," Nervous states, leaning down towards the appliance and checking it out more thoroughly before standing back up next to Crystal, "I wonder if it's PT's," he comments.

"Wow Frances, you sure have a lot of expensive items," Crystal says after Frances leads them into the TV nook, "Have you ever thought of downgrading to pay your rent?"

Frances sighs and shakes his head. "Crystal, Fortune sims don't downgrade. You should know that."

"Well, if you don't want to downgrade, then maybe you should get a part-time job," Crystal suggests as Nervous stares at the bookcase next to them, "Do you have any Creativity or Cooking skill?"

"No," Frances replies, stepping back towards the piano, "I have Logic skill, though."

"Yeah, that's not going to help us here," Crystal tells him, staring off towards the back porch. Suddenly, Crystal leans back a bit, a modestly-sized wooden structure catching her eye. "Hey, is that a lemonade stand?" she asks, taking a step towards it.

Frances eyes widen as he races over and stands in front of the back window, trying to shield the backyard view from the pair. "No!" he shouts, his face flushed.

"Hey yeah, that is a lemonade stand!" Nervous beams, gazing around the young man's shoulder, "That's it! We can go to the Student Union and sell lemonade to pay your rent."

"That's a great idea, Nervous, they'll be tons of people there!" Crystal chimes, pushing past Frances and walking over to the miscellaneous item. She kneels in front of it and picks it up with both hands, carrying it into the house.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I don't think so!" Frances shouts, blocking the front exit with his body, "There is no way a rich, sophisticated guy like me is going to sell fifty-simoleon lemonade to commoners!"

"Commoners?" Crystal repeats, her forehead scrunched in confusion, "What century are you from?"

"Yeah," Nervous wonders, "And who charges fifty simoleons for lemonade?"

"None of those things matter!" Frances fires quickly, "The point is, I am the richest, most successful sim in this neighborhood. There is no way that I am going to be reduced to selling lemonade to my peers, and there's nothing you can do to make me!"

…

"Lemonade, get your lemonade," Frances mutters, sinking into the hard, wooden bench situated behind the stand in front of the La Fiesta Tech Student Union, "It's surprising expensive!" he unenthusiastically calls out, twirling his finger lazily in the air. Nearby, Crystal and Nervous are standing behind them, their faces filled with a pleasant mixture of bewilderment and pity.

"Man, with that sales pitch, it's no wonder he's out of money," Crystal comments, crossing her hands in front of her torso. Next to her, Nervous nods before reaching down into his pocket and pulling out a quarter.

"Well, while we're here, I may as well help the guy," Nervous speaks up, walking over to the lemonade stand and placing the quarter into the jar. Frances looks up at him and lets out a long, frustrated sigh, propping his head up with his hand as a man dressed in a long, black coat steps up behind Nervous. Nervous steps back and covers his face with his hands, quickly shifting into full panic mode. Nervous races across the sand and cowers behind Crystal.

"Hello everyone," the Unsavory Charlatan slyly greets, scanning over the troubled sims, "How's my favorite team doing?"

Crystal tilts her forehead, clearly puzzled. "We're your favorite team?" she wonders, unable to believe what she is hearing.

"Eh, any team that doesn't have Pascal in it is my favorite," he shrugs as Nervous slowly lifts himself up from his cower in the sand. "So, how's it going?"

"Not good," Crystal answer honestly, "We haven't even made one simoleon yet, and it's already six o'clock. At this rate we'll probably have the money by..." Crystal briefly gazes down at her watch, "-June," she completes, gazing back up at the host and shaking her head. "If only there was some way to sell cheap items at an expensive price that college students would be interested in purchasing," she vents, bringing her hand up to her chin in a ponder, "But what could we sell that average sims would be swarming in to buy…?"

…

"Toilets! Get your toilets here! Only two hundred and fifty simoleons!" Frances calls through a megaphone. Around him, dozens of college students and townies are swarming onto his lot, staring heavily at the five toilets that are spread across his lawn.

Nearby, Crystal is ringing up the third purchase of the day after successfully dazzling a professor into buying it. "Thank you, sir. Enjoy your toilet," Crystal smiles as Nervous races over with a clipboard in hand to restock it.

"Hey, this is a place of business!" Frances chimes, racing over to a group of townies and waving them away with his hands, "Go play hacky sack somewhere else!" The townies start dispersing, grumbling to themselves as they exit the lot.

"Oh my gosh, we did it! We actually did it!" Crystal chimes, gazing up from the cash register as Nervous and Frances approach to hear the good news. "Thanks to all our hard work and the power of selling toilets, you can now live here for an extra three months!"

"Really?" Frances states; Crystal nods. "Well, in that case-" Frances walks over to the side of his townhouse and pulls open a hidden latch. He grabs one of the golden switches and pulls it down. "Get the hell off my lawn!" he shouts. Water spews out from the sprinklers, causing several of the students to shriek and race off the lawn, shielding their heads from the droplets.

Seeing this, Crystal sighs and walks up next to Frances, shaking her head at the unfortunate circumstance. "Well, I'm not sure I agree with your exit strategy, but I'm too excited about us completing this task in record time to care."

"I know, isn't this great?" Nervous speaks up next to her, sporting the largest smile on his face, "Looks like things are finally looking up for us-"

"Heads up!" a young college student shouts from the edge of their lawn. A baseball flies across the outside business and sails towards the group. It locks in on a target and hits Crystal square in the face, knocking her out cold.

Nervous immediately races over to her and kneels in front of his friend. Behind him, Frances is leaning down in concern. "Crystal!" Nervous cries, nudging her gently by the shoulders. When she doesn't budge, he starts shaking her a little harder. After a few seconds of failure, Nervous turns to Frances, clearly panicked. "She's not responding. Call an ambulance!"

Frances nods, "Right," he confirms, running into the house to retrieve his cell phone.

"Don't worry Crystal, it's going to be okay," Nervous states, doing his best to stay strong for her as he gently squeezes her hand, "I won't let my dad take you. I promise."

 _Friends – Day 1_

"Well, this is it: 15 Land Lane," Pollination Tech #9 announces, gazing up from the task card to stare at the one-level beige house in front of them. "According to the card, this is the residence of a freshman named Stella Terrano."

"Okay, great," Ajay mutters, kicking a pebble in the sand, feeling somewhat envious of the student. "All these students have such extravagant houses and here I am still stuck in the Family bin."

"Come on Ajay, don't be a downer," Pollination Tech #9, sporting his best encouraging smile, "We haven't even met her yet; you two could have a lot in common. I mean, she does live by herself," he adds.

Ajay stops at the base of the stair steps leading up to the porch and sighs. "I doubt I'm going to meet anyone on this journey that I can relate to…"

Pollination Tech #9 shrugs. "Eh, it's a long journey. You never know," he says, approaching the front door and giving it a firm knock. A young woman with green skin and solid black eyes dressed in a pink floral sundress answers the door.

"Hey," Stella greets, gazing down cautiously at the two strangers, "I-I'm Stella," she nervously speaks, playing with her hands as her gaze drifts to the floor, "You must be the guests I'm supposed to be waiting for."

At the base of the staircase, Ajay is staring at Stella wondrously. "Oh my gosh, she's an alien!" Ajay beams, stepping forward in shock. Ajay turns to Stella, who has moved her shaking hands to her side, "Sorry," he apologizes, "I'm just in shock. All this time I thought PT was the only alien in Strangetown."

"No, I've been here for a few years," Stella replies, still staring down at the floorboard. "Why don't you guys come in and I'll show you around?"

Pollination Tech #9 and Ajay nod and follow Stella into the tiny house. She leads them into the modesty-sized living area, where the pair takes a seat on the cheap, blue and white striped couch.

"Would you like something to drink?" Stella asks them, nervously playing with her hands once more, "Since I live here by myself, I don't have a lot of cups. But I think I have a few plastic ones in the cabinet."

"That's fine. We can always get something from the store later," Pollination Tech #9 replies with a smile, "So, do you like it here at La Fiesta Tech?" he wonders, "Since you're a freshman, I can imagine you haven't been here that long."

"No, I haven't," Stella responds, backing up towards a nearby chair and taking a seat, "I just moved here last month. I like it here so far, but I'd be lying if I told you that I wasn't lonely. Coming from another planet and living in isolation for a month isn't the best recipe for making friends," she confesses, "I've always been kind of a loner."

"Hey, just like you, Ajay," Pollination Tech #9 states, nudging his teammate in the side.

Stella leans forward, a spark of interest in her eyes. "Really?" she asks.

"Yeah," Ajay nods, "But I'm a loner by choice. I usually don't like being around people," he elaborates, glancing around the room. "This is a nice house by the way," he comments, turning back to Stella, "It sure beats the Family bin."

"You're from the Family bin? That's where I used to be!" Stella awes, a smile forming on her face for the first time since they arrived there, "Look! I even have a photo of it," she says, racing over to the bookshelf and grabbing the golden-framed photo. She walks over to the couch and turns the photo over, revealing it to the friends. The photo shows Stella posing in front of a blue background smiling.

"Yeah, that's the classic loner pose," Ajay says, giving a small laugh. Ajay watches as Stella puts the photo back on the bookshelf before rejoining them in the sitting area. "So Stella, what do you do for fun?" he wonders, starting to loosen up a bit. "I'm sure you have a lot of interests."

"Oh yes," Stella replies, feeling happy just thinking about them, "I enjoy fashion and money and work and the environment," Stella states, listing off a few, "But I haven't been out much since I got here."

"Then let's go out and explore the campus," Pollination Tech #9 declares, standing up from the couch and turning to the remaining sims, "Come on, we'll take you out, it'll be fun," he promises.

Stella sits up in her seat a bit, staring up at the ceiling in a ponder. "Well, alright," she agrees, standing up from the chair and grabbing her purse. She gently slings it around her shoulder, "It would be nice to make a friend," she adds, flashing Ajay a smile, "Let's go," she beams, heading out the door, Pollination Tech #9 and Ajay lingering behind her.

Ajay softly nudges Pollination Tech #9 in the side. "Do you really think we can do it? Do you really think we can help her make a friend?" he whispers.

"She's a sweetheart, Ajay," Pollination Tech #9 says, "With a personality like that, she'll be swarming in friends by the end of the week," he states almost certainly.

 _An Hour Later_

"Wow, I like this place. It's so pretty!" Ajay awes, walking around central campus with Pollination Tech #9 and Stella on either side of him. Ajay stops in the center of The Plaza and basks in the scenery around him, which is filled with fresh air and lush landscape as far as the eye can see. "This almost makes me wish I went to college."

"And this makes me wish I could find a bathroom," Pollination Tech #9 adds, dancing a little in place.

Stella smiles and points to a beige building a few dozen yards away. "It's right over there," Stella tells him.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Pollination Tech #9 replies, racing across the plaza and swinging open the door.

Following his departure, Stella shyly turns to Ajay and gives a small giggle. "You want an expresso?" she asks, fidgeting with her hands.

"Okay."

"Great!" Stella chimes, eagerly grabbing Ajay by the hand and leading him across campus. Ajay blinks twice, completely taken off-guard by Stella's sudden easiness around him.

Stella leads Ajay over to the expresso machine and stares up at the blonde-haired, fair-skinned young female that is standing behind the counter dressed in a dark green apron. Stella smiles and points her left finger up towards the checkered ceiling. "Two expressos, please," she orders, still holding Ajay's hand.

…

"So Ajay, I gotta know," Stella speaks up once they are seated in the café with their expressos a few minutes later, "why are you really a loner?" she asks, taking a sip of her mini-flavored latte.

"What do you mean?" Ajay wonders, taking a small sip of his expresso, his face filled with confusion.

"Well, you said earlier that you're a loner by choice," Stella reminds him, "Was that your choice or someone elses?"

"Mine," he clarifies, "I'm pretty introverted and unappealing to normal women, which are scarce in my town, trust me," he explains, flashing a light smirk. "For some reason, the weirdos love to flock to the normal sims, and I don't want to have to be aggressive to get a date."

"What about the people in the Family bin?"

Ajay sets his expresso down on the bright purple table and shrugs his shoulders. "Eh, I'm not exciting enough for them," he mumbles, playing with his straw wrapper.

"I think you're exciting," Stella squeaks, tracing patterns into the table as she blushes slightly.

Ajay locks eyes with her and smile. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Stella states, the pair staring deeply at one another.

"Geez! That bathroom was disgusting!" Pollination Tech #9 complains, walking over to their table, pulling out a velvet-cushioned chair, and taking a seat, "I don't know what was on the floor, but I almost lost a shoe trying to get out of there!" he announces, stopping in place when he notices the strange looks that are on Ajay and Stella's faces. "Uh…am I a third wheel here?" he speculates, feeling more awkward by the minute, "It's okay if I am, I can always go out and visit the Cacti Café. I heard they have a wide selection of Alien Cuisine," he tells them.

"PT, it's fine, we were just talking about me being a loner, that's all," Ajay clarifies, shifting his attention to his friend. Stella sinks a bit in her seat when he says this, "We're still very focused on finding Stella a friend."

"Well, in that case, we should probably head to the Mirage Shopping Center. Some guy in the bathroom told me that's the hotspot for college kids during the day," Pollination Tech #9 says, Ajay scrunching his forehead, bewildered by this news. "I know it sounds concerning, but I'm pretty sure that guy was a student."

Ajay shrugs and stands up from his seat, placing his hands down on the smooth surface of the brightly-colored table. "Alright. Guess that's good enough for me," Ajay says before grabbing his empty expresso cup. He moves forward, stopping a mere inch away from Stella's hand, which is resting against her empty latte cup on the table. "Can I get that for you?" he asks.

"Huh?" Stella speaks, amidst a daydream, lightly shaking her head in the hopes of snapping herself out of it. "Yeah, sure," she says, watching as Ajay carefully takes the empty cup from her and places it on an empty tray in front of the garbage. Stella rests her head against her closed hand and sighs.

"You like him, don't you?" Pollination Tech #9 voices next to her. Hearing this, Stella immediately turns around, speechless; a panicked expression on her face. "It's okay. I won't say anything," he vows, "Just be patient with him. He's kind of clueless," Pollination Tech #9 advises, cracking a small smile.

Stella leans back and gives a small nod, watching Ajay in hopefulness. "Okay."

 _Lovers – Day 1_

Vidcund and Loki are standing side by side in the center of the front yard of the Tri-Fruhm House, observing the chaos around them. The front yard is covered with young college students who are dancing to electronica music that is pounding through two loudspeakers into the sand. A crowd of girls shrieks and races over to the volleyball net located at the base of the property.

"Oh God! This is a sorority!" Loki exclaims, the situation finally striking him as he flashes Vidcund a look of pure horror.

Vidcund raises an eyebrow, "So?"

" _So_?" Loki squeaks, "Do you know what crazy sorority girls do to guys like us?!" he wails, "One minute they're all sunshine and happiness, and the next you wake up tied to a bedpost in nothing but your underwear!"

"Now come on, don't you think that's an over-exaggeration?" Vidcund states, giving his eyes a roll.

"Look, all I'm saying is we need to get in and out of here as soon as possible," Loki clarifies, "We need to get out of this place before the normal people start turning crazy! Now, what does the mission card say?"

Vidcund reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out the mission card. He reads it over briefly before looking back up at Loki. "It says here that we need to help one of the four core members of Tri-Fruhm Sorority achieve their semester goal," he states before folding the card in half and giving a shrug. "Seems simple enough."

"Great, now you first!" Loki asserts, pushing Vidcund towards the entrance of the estate.

"What? No, you go in first! You're more intimidating looking," Vidcund replies, planting his feet firmly into the sand.

Loki sighs and rolls his eyes, clearly having enough. "Fine," he groans, "We'll go in together."

Vidcund and Loki slowly and carefully step into the main entrance of the house, which is filled with even more commotion and alcohol than the dance party outside. The pair steps into the main living room area and scans the room, finding themselves feeling even more out of place than before. A young man draped in a toga approaches Vidcund and Loki, briefly scanning them over.

"Hey, someone's dad is here!" the college student calls out, pointing down at Vidcund, who is dressed in his classic everyday attire. Next to him, Loki bursts into a fit of laughter.

"Oh, come on! I don't look _that_ old!" Vidcund stresses.

A second young man dressed in a toga walks by them, giving Loki a nod as he eyes Loki's black and red criminal mastermind attire. "Cool outfit," the student compliments.

Loki nods, seemingly satisfied by this comment, "Thanks," he says before turning to Vidcund and flashing him a smug expression.

"Whatever," Vidcund moans, "Let's just find the core members before things get even more disturbing," he tells Loki, turning towards the kitchen. He takes a few steps before accidentally knocking into a young woman, who is also dressed in a bedsheet toga.

She giggles and checks him out from head to toe. "Oh, I just love dorks!" she coos, leaning forward and playfully running her finger down his chest. Vidcund's eyes widen as Loki starts fuming next to him.

"Hey! Hands off, pansy! This guy's out of your league!" Loki blares, grabbing Vidcund by the arm and pulling him away from the student. Behind him, Vidcund remains confused, still trying to register what happened.

"Whoa. Hold up," he speaks as Loki leads him across the room, "Did you just compliment me?"

Loki shakes his head, blushing a deep red. "No," he states, letting go of Vidcund's arm and leaning against the wall. Vidcund holds his stomach for a second and quickly races over to a trashcan across the room while Loki surveys the living room for the Sorority heads. Vidcund wrenches forward and throws up, Loki standing completely oblivious further away. Vidcund moans and slowly waddles over to Loki, rubbing his stomach. Loki nudges him in the side.

"Hey, check it out!" Loki tells him once Vidcund approaches, "Knowledge Sim – five o'clock!" he beams, pointing to a girl across the room. Vidcund steps forward and leans down slightly, examining where Loki is pointing. Sure enough, a girl with short red hair and glasses is tucked behind a chair in the corner of the living room reading what appears to be an encyclopedia. She adjusts her glasses and turns the page, her focus solely on the text.

After examining the situation, Vidcund leans back and turns to Loki. "Just because she's reading a book at a party, doesn't mean she's a knowledge sim."

"Oh really?" Loki states disbelievingly, crossing his arms over his chest, "We'll just see about that-"

Vidcund watches intrigued as Loki walks across the room and leans not-so-discreetly up against the wall adjacent to the reading student. Loki moves down slightly, turning his head to the side in a whisper. "Hey kid," Loki mutters; the young girl doesn't move, "Pst…kid! You a knowledge sim?" Loki questions, sliding further down the wall. Nearby, Vidcund is scrunching his forehead, visibly confused by Loki's actions. To his surprise, the young college student pushes her glasses up against the bridge of her nose and locks eyes with Loki.

"Uh…?"

"No, no. Don't look in my direction!" Loki instructs, sliding down the wall even more. The girl turns the other way, "So, are you a knowledge sim or what?"

She tilts her head, clearly puzzled, "Yeah," she answers, causing Loki to immediately stand up and clap his hands together.

Loki turns to Vidcund and points his finger in the plant biologist's face. "Bam! Told you!" he chimes before breaking into a victory dance.

Nearby, the young girl stares up at Vidcund, even more confused than before. "Uh…is he always like that?" she wonders.

"Yeah," Vidcund nods, still watching the elaborate dance with her as Loki transitions into some cabbage thrusts, "but if you don't let him finish the whole dance, he gets ten times worse."

"Huh," the college student states, adjusting her glasses slightly as she gazes up at Loki, finally getting a good look at him. "Oh my gosh, you're Loki!" she realizes, standing up in place, "Loki Beaker, Loki – the famous scientist!" she awes as Loki stops what he is doing and focuses on her. "What are you doing here? I thought you already finished your PhD!"

"I did," Loki answers, "but you know, I like interacting with simpletons; it keeps the mind rich," he explains, casually glancing around the room. "So, what's the story here? Is this your sorority?"

The young girl shakes her head. "Kinda," she tells him, "I run it with three other sims. I'm Monica, by the way," she greets, turning to the two scientists and giving them a shy wave.

"Splendid," Loki rapidly replies, still laser-focused at the task at hand, "I'm Loki, that's Vidcund," he rushes, barely gesturing to his boyfriend, "Where are your sisters? Cause we need to call a meeting now!" he states, attempting to shout over the crowds.

Monica glances around the room and shrugs. "I don't know," she replies, "With all these people here, it's impossible to tell!"

"Then I guess I have no choice but to yell out demands," Loki answers heading towards the main archway. Vidcund grabs him and pulls him back.

"Great idea," Vidcund responds sarcastically, "Cause if there's one thing a pack of crazed college girls wants, it's male authority!"

Loki sighs and rolls his eyes before grabbing a beer bottle from the couch. Loki walks takes two steps forward and throws the bottle down, smashing it onto the coffee table. Everyone at the party immediately stops what they are doing and stare at Loki. He clears his throat and looks firmly into the crowd as Vidcund takes a flyer from on top of the table and neatly pushes the shards of glass into the trashcan. "Alright, listen up! Anyone who's not one of the core members of this sorority needs to get the hell out right now!" Loki instructs. None of the students move a muscle. "Come on people, don't make me turn on classical music!"

"Classical music?!" one of the students calls out, "NO!"

In no time at all, the partygoers have rushed off the property, and Loki finds himself standing in front of a semi-circle of the core sorority members and Vidcund, who are situated on the carpet in the living room.

"Alright," Loki begins, clasping his hands together, "Now, here's how this works: We'll go around the circle and have everyone say their goal, and then we'll pick the most plausible one to accomplish," he states, turning towards one side of the circle, "Okay Monica, you first."

Monica smiles. "Well, I've always wanted to be popular-"

"Eh, let's move onto the next one!" Loki interrupts, waving his hand down in veto, "Scary-looking girl?" he calls out, pointing to Jessie.

Jessie smirks. "I want to break up Sarah and Matthew Hart!" she beams.

"Interesting," Loki replies, stroking his chin in a ponder, "We'll keep that one in the 'maybe' pile," he says before moving on, "Sarah?"

"Well, I want to marry Matty, the love of my life!" she coos.

"-And he wants to get a restraining order," Loki quips, " _Next_!" he shouts, pointing to Vidcund.

Vidcund sighs and slouches down slightly. "I would like to go the next five minutes without embarrassing myself."

"Impossible!" Loki declares, raising his finger up at the ceiling in point. He throws his arms out and groans, visibly frustrated. "What is wrong with you people?! There's not one realistic goal in the bunch!" he shouts before turning towards the empty wall and releasing a sigh. After a moment, Loki turns around, his eyes landing on the final sorority sister. "What about you, glasses?" he wonders, "You haven't said anything since we got here!"

"-Probably because she's scared of the two twenty-something-year-old men who just randomly walked into her house and took over her sorority," Vidcund notes, rolling his eyes.

"Actually, I do have a realistic goal for this sorority," DJ speaks up, fearless staring into Loki's eyes, "I want Tri-Fruhm to become the most popular Greek House on campus. We're only five members away from surpassing Oresha-Hoh-Var," she notes.

"Hmm…" Loki states, crossing his arms as he exchanges glances with Vidcund. A small smile spreads across Loki's face, the physicist seemingly pleased by her request. "Well, that seems doable," he nods, "All we need to do is throw another killer party, and we'll have five new pledges by the end of the night!" he declares, leaning down and pointing his finger at DJ, "Sounds like today's your lucky day, glasses!"

"-DJ," the young college girl corrects.

"No, we don't need a DJ for a college party. Come on, that's ridiculous!" Loki chimes, brushing the idea off and exiting towards the kitchen.

DJ rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she sits up from the carpet.

A few minutes later, Vidcund walks over to Loki in the kitchen while the four core members go their separate ways to prepare for the party. Vidcund leans towards him and lowers his voice to a whisper while Loki cleans the wooden kitchen table. "Does it not concern you that not one of these girls asked for help with their academics?" he wonders.

Loki stares up at the ceiling, continuing to tidy up the surface. "Vidcund, we're at La Fiesta Tech, what do you expect?"

…

Three hours later, the Tri-Fruhm pledge party is in full swing as dozens of college students all throughout campus line the estate, several of them dressed in togas and swinging shots while electronica music blasts through the loud speakers at 11:45 at night. Loki is dancing with a group of college students in the living room, juice in hand, as the music blares even louder. Nearby, Vidcund is covering his ears with his hands, visibly distraught. Loki laughs and grabs Vidcund by the waist, pulling him towards him. Loki sways a bit as he attempts to steady himself, clearly drunk, as he passionately grabs Vidcund's midsection.

"I love you, Vidcund Curious," Loki slurs, "You're like a sexy Adonis!"

Vidcund tilts his head to the side and blinks a few times, slightly weirded out by the situation. "Uh…okay."

Loki twirls Vidcund around and starts grinding up against him, gently brushing his hand against Vidcund's stomach. Vidcund moans and clenches his stomach, quickly racing out of the room and throwing up into the toilet. Loki continues casually swaying for a few minutes before leaning forward and passing out over the couch.

The party rages on.


	3. Episode 2: La Fiesta Tech, Day 2

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! I am so sorry about the wait. I wanted to post _La Fiesta Tech Day 2_ during the summer, but I injured my wrists halfway through writing it. This chapter also contains a huge spoiler from one of my other fanfictions, _Twisted_ , so if you haven't read the ending of that fanfiction yet, I would avoid reading this one. Thanks for being so patient, I really appreciate it!

P.S. Happy birthday, to-fu! :D

* * *

 **The Amazing Race: Strangetown Edition**

 **Leg One –** _La Fiesta Tech_

 _Brothers – Day 2_

"Alright guys, this is it. We're up next," Jasmine Rai, the Shifting Paradymes' leader and chief band member, states as she stands backstage with Gunnar and Zoe on either side of her. All three of the band members are staring intensely at their onstage competition, a young rock band called Synthesis. Behind them, Pascal and Lazlo are cowering in place, the pair shaking from head to toe.

"Oh God, I'm so nervous. I feel like we've been standing here for a year!" Pascal cries, rubbing his forearms.

Lazlo shrugs and scans the area, "Eh, I'd say more like a year and three months."

Jasmine turns to the trembling brothers and glances over their attire. "Really? _That's_ what you're wearing to the competition?"

Pascal stares down at his classic dark gray video game shirt and shrugs. "Yeah. Why? Do you think I should've worn my maternity outfit?"

"Er…no," Zoe jumps in, "but you could've at least _tried_ to look like a rock star."

"Ooh, okay. I get what you're saying. I gotta be cool if I want to be a part of the Sitting Pair of Dimes," he states, the main band members scrunching their foreheads at this blunder, "Goodbye glasses!" Pascal chimes, taking off his thick black frames and chucking them carelessly over his shoulder.

Lazlo taps him on the back. "Uh, you do know you need those to see, right?" Lazlo reminds his oldest brother, "Cause the last time you didn't wear your glasses, you almost kissed Vidcund."

"Yes, but then I kissed refrigerator instead, and we saved hundreds of simoleons in therapy," Pascal adds in point, "And then I-wait, where was I going with this?" Pascal asks, tapping his chin in wonder.

"Oh man, I'm so scared!" Lazlo cries, taking a step backward as the rest of the band grabs their instruments, "I can't do this! I feel like I'm going to puke!"

"Lazlo, relax," Pascal states, attempting to soothe his youngest brother but patting the stage curtain instead, "You can do this. If not for yourself, then do it for Stinky," Pascal tells him, "Oh, and if you have to puke, do it in Gunnar's guitar case."

"-I heard that!" Gunnar shouts out behind them.

"Damn it, Gunnar! Can you scream any louder?" Jasmine speaks up, rubbing the side of her forehead, "You're giving me a massive headache!" she yells, "If this messes up my rhythm, I am never speaking to you again!"

Pascal quickly steps forward, separating the pair. He turns to the blob that most resembles Jasmine Rai. "Look Jasmine, I'm not one to brag, but you're talking to a guy who's won pretty much every scientific achievement to date and a bunch of awards I wasn't even nominated for…I mean, _Sexiest Angular Chin_ , how the hell did that happen?!" Pascal cries, stopping as a confused Jasmine attempts to follow his line of thinking, "But the point is there are more important things in life than winning, so don't piss off your only friends for a trophy and a fifty-simoleon gift certificate to Guitar Surplus."

Jasmine raises an eyebrow, "Actually, it's a hundred-simoleon gift certificate."

"Really?" Pascal's face lights up, "Then screw them!" he shouts, before letting out a small laugh, "I'm just kidding. We should probably win this thing as the Swifting Parakeets."

Five minutes later, the Shifting Paradymes are set up onstage and ready to perform, Pascal sporting his best stage smile and Lazlo still standing in the background looking like he is about to vomit.

Jasmine slowly walks forward and picks up the microphone, her deep red guitar shining. "Hello LFT! We're the Shifting Paradymes, and this is our song, 'Revolution'!" Jasmine's voice echoes throughout the auditorium. She turns to the other members and gives the starting nod.

The band begins playing their song, the music sounding halfway decent for a band that played together for the first time hours before. Jasmine looks down at the audience, most of whom are nodding along with the melody. Halfway through Gunnar's drum solo, however, the audience turns on them. "Oh no, they're booing us!" Jasmine cries to the rest of the band, unable to believe what she is hearing, "We'll be lucky if we get third!"

All of a sudden, Lazlo steps forward, a newfound sense of courage filling his body as he thinks of his old college friend, Stinky. He races over to Jasmine and snatches her microphone. Lazlo holds it up to his mouth. "Oh my name's Lazlo and this is my groove, wait until you see my killer moves!" Lazlo quickly hands Jasmine the microphone, the rest of the band completely dumbfounded behind him as Lazlo starts breakdancing in front of them.

"Woo! Yeah, Lazlo!" Pascal cheers behind him, Lazlo nods slightly, encouraging the other band members to continue the rest of the song.

Fifteen dance moves and ten freestyle verses later, the Shifting Paradymes are anxiously standing backstage waiting to hear the results.

"Well, that was the longest fifteen minutes of my life," Jasmine remarks, rubbing her forehead, "but at least we didn't totally bomb."

"Jaz, did you not hear the crowd out there?" Zoe says, approaching the band leader, "There's no way we lost-"

"Would all the bands please join us onstage?" the head judge of the Battle of the Bands announces backstage, "We are ready to announce the results," he states.

The Shifting Paradymes quickly return to the stage, Lazlo doing his best to guide Pascal around the other bands. The head judge smiles as he waits for the audience to calm down and the bands to settle behind him. "La Fiesta Technical University is proud to announce the winner of the twenty-third Battle of the Bands competition. By unanimous consensus, the winner of this year's Battle of the Bands is…the Shifting Paradymes!" he exclaims, pointing to the band in the corner.

Jasmine, Gunnar, and Zoe all scream in celebration and hug each other, while Lazlo does a congratulatory fist pump nearby. Behind the rest of the band, Pascal looks confused out of his mind. "The Shifting Paradymes?" he repeats, "Who the hell is that?!"

 _Acquaintances – Day 2_

Death and Kristen are sitting in the garden having a casual coffee party with the three members of the Student Housing household, the group of five forming a small circle as they converse with each other about various topics, mostly involving the Grim Reaper. "So, is there any way to escape Death?" Klara asks, setting her coffee mug down on the picnic blanket so she can wipe off her glasses.

"Yeah," Blossom adds, "like if someone stole your scythe and threw it into the ocean?"

"No," Death firmly answers, "And no one's ever tried."

"So, you're indestructible," Kristen speaks up, taking a sip of her drink.

Death shrugs his shoulders. "Everyone has a weakness," he states, "Human emotion is a powerful thing that even I don't understand."

"So, what you're saying is I just need to punch you in the gut and I'll live?" William quips.

Death laughs through his nose hole and nods. "Yes," he sarcastically says.

"It sounds like you've had quite the life, especially at the University of Hawaii," Klara states, letting out a small sigh as she stares down into the grass, "I wish the people here were that driven to success."

"Don't worry, Klara," Kristen assures the college student, "There are tons of people like that in Strangetown."

Death rolls his eyes, nearly coughing up his coffee. "Please!" he chimes, "Our town is filled with wasted potential. It's only second to the monstrosity known as Pleasantview."

Kristen cocks her forehead, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Death begins, his statement immediately capturing the attention of the entire circle, "just off the top of my head, we have a woman who can have whatever she wants but chooses nothing," he begins, counting the disappointments on his boney fingers, "two sims who love each other but are too afraid to do anything about it, and another sim who could excel if they ditched their friends and family and actually lived for themselves for once."

"I'm not sure about the first two, but the last one sounds totally reasonable," Kristen comments before nonchalantly sipping her coffee.

"Say what you will, but if you ask me, Strangetown is filled with disappointments," Death says as he stands up from the circle, "But no matter, it'll all be over soon," he states, grabbing his scythe from the toolshed at the back of the house.

"Yeah…" Kristen nods, "Wait, what?!"

William stands up from the grass and turns to the others. "Hey, do you guys want to play frisbee?"

"Not now, William!" Kristen barks, the intense situation causing her stomach to drop. She walks over to the Grim Reaper, who is levitating towards the back door. "What do you mean everything's going to be over soon?" Kristen questions, her hands perched on her hips, "What exactly are you planning?"

"It's not my bidding, Kristen, I just do what the Creator tells me to do," Death replies, not even bothering to turn around, "it would be best if you didn't try to get involved," he advises, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some coffeecakes in the microwave."

Kristen and the student trio watch as the Grim Reaper flies through the door and disappears into the kitchen. "Sometimes I wonder what's wrong with Grim," Kristen speaks into the silence.

"Me too," William seconds, "I mean, who puts coffeecakes in the microwave?"

"Look, you three seem like fairly normal college students, so let me give you some advice: Get out of here while you still can," Kristen says, "the only reason why I'm still here is because I'm legally obligated to go on this journey with the Grim Reaper," she sighs.

Blossom looks to her two housemates and shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know, Kristen," she says, "I mean, this is our house and the Grim Reaper actually seems really nice-"

A few seconds later, a high-pitched scream is heard from the house as the Grim Reaper swings his scythe at a credenza. The trio of students look back at Kristen, their eyes filled with dread. "On second thought, I think we're going to take that offer," Blossom concludes, reaching forward and giving Kristen's hand a shake, "Good luck, Kristen!"

"Thanks," she mutters.

Kristen sighs as watches Blossom, William, and Klara race across the desert campus. She dusts her hands off and stares into the distance. "Well, there's a trio of friends if I've ever seen one," Kristen states, as the Grim Reaper levitates over and mirrors her stance.

"I'll say!" Death nods, shoving a warm coffeecake into his mouth hole, "Nothing brings people together more effectively than fear."

 _Sister-in-Laws – Day 2_

Circe groans and rubs her aching forehead, the light from the dusty window giving her a massive headache as she wakes up the next morning on a foul-smelling dormitory couch. "Erin," Circe speaks up, nudging the young woman in the side, who is fast asleep in a worn-out pink arm chair nearby, "Erin, wake up! We still gotta get Dork and Dorkier to like each other."

"Ugh, not now," Erin moans, nudging Circe's hand away in the hopes of resuming her pleasant dream, "I'm just about to win intergalactic prom queen."

All of a sudden, a crash is heard down the hall. "Oh, you're dead, Aldric!" Almeric shouts.

Circe moans and drags herself off the couch. "Well, let's get this over with," she states, walking by the chair and pulling Erin up by the arm. "Hey!" Circe bursts into Almeric's dorm room, "What the hell is going on here?"

"I'll tell you what's going on here," Almeric screams, barely able to contain himself, "He destroyed my gift for Janet! Today was the day I was finally going to profess my love to her!"

"Listen, kid. Let me save you both some time," Circe begins, clearly having enough of this whole ordeal, "Janet doesn't give a shit about either of you! The only reason why she comes to this dormitory in the first place is because she's a _paid worker_!" she cries, turning towards the window, "So sit down, shut up, and quit making asses of yourselves so you two can finally learn to get along! Got it?"

Erin taps her on the shoulder, "Uh…Circe?" she states. Circe turns around only to find the room devoid of the Davis brothers.

Circe throws her hands up towards the ceiling. "Of course!" she screams.

Erin and Circe exit the room and step into the hallway, knowing there is only one place the brothers could be. Sure enough, they find Almeric and Aldric in the cafeteria, the pair crowding poor eighty-one-year-old Janet.

"Janet, I love you!" Almeric cries, kneeling in front of the cafeteria lady and holding out a bouquet of pristine roses, "Please tell me that you feel the same!"

"Almeric may say he loves you, but I love you more!" Aldric speaks up, shoving his older brother in the side, clasping his hands together, and staring up lovingly at his crush. "And I'm willing to do anything to prove it!" he cries.

Janet steps back, visibly flustered and overwhelmed by this bizarre set of confessions. "I-well…"

"Iwell!" Almeric repeats suddenly, his eyes overcrowded with hearts, "That would be a perfect name for our daughter!"

Nearby, Circe and Erin are standing in the corner looking very uncomfortable. Circe cringes, "Yeesh, this just gets creepier and creepier," she notes.

"Almeric-" Janet attempts to say.

Almeric gasps and holds the sides of his face. "She knows my name!"

Janet steps back and turns to his brother, "Aldric-"

Aldric gasps even louder than his older brother and repeats his ridiculous overreaction, "She knows _my_ name!" he beams, completely ignoring a dapperly-dressed elderly gentleman who has just walked into the room. The gentleman waves to Janet.

"Hey Janet, are you almost ready to go?" the man states, instantly attracting the attention of the entire room.

Erin nudges Circe in the side. "Who's that?" she asks.

"I don't know," Circe replies, just happy that Almeric and Aldric have stopped talking for once and basking in their shocked silence, "Maybe he's her boyfriend," she suggests.

Erin slowly steps in front of the gentleman and leans forward, intensely looking the man in the eyes. "No, he's definitely her husband," she states after a few drawn out stares. Erin reaches down and grabs the gentleman's hand. She licks his arm and quickly pulls away, a peculiar gaze on her face as she tastes his follicles. "Yep," she concludes decisively, "he tastes like her husband."

"Yes, this man is my husband," Janet confirms, quickly stepping away from the brothers and grabbing the gentleman by the arm. She turns to Erin, "Please never lick him again."

"WHAT?!" Almeric shouts across the room, his brother appearing equally heartbroken, "JANET, HOW COULD YOU?! I THOUGHT WE HAD SOMETHING SPECIAL!"

"-You mean something delusional," Circe mutters behind him, her arms crossed.

"Come on, dear. Let's go out to dinner," the gentleman suggests, grabbing Janet by the hand and leading her away from the sobfest.

Circe and Erin watch as Almeric and Aldric fall to the floor, the pair bawling their eyes out and cradling each other as they cry over what never was. Circe turns to Erin, still quite creeped out by the entire situation as she eyes the Davis brothers crying like infants.

"Now this is just weird," she states.

 _Mothers – Day 2_

Jenny and Olive are sitting on a wooden bench in front of the Oresha-Hoh-Var fraternity house early in the morning, waiting to hear the results of Mickey's exam on Academic Arguments. Olive sighs and turns to her teammate, growing tired of lazing in silence. "Jenny," she speaks up, "do you ever think about the future?"

Jenny tilts her forehead, surprised that Olive is so willing to start a deep conversation. "What do you mean?" she wonders.

"You know," Olive begins, staring out at the empty street in front of them, "like what's going to happen after all of your children grow up and move out of the house?"

"Well, they'll go out and live their lives and hopefully come back with grandchildren," Jenny answers, staring out at the desert.

Olive folds her hands in her lap and gives a slight chuckle. "That is such a Family sim answer," she states.

Jenny turns to Olive, unsure whether she should be offended by the old woman's comment or not. "Well, what are you going to do once Ophelia moves out?"

"Celebrate," Olive replies, "And maybe get a second boyfriend."

"You aren't happy with Death?"

"Eh, he's alright, but we both know our relationship isn't going to last," Olive responds, narrowing her eyes a bit as the sun glares down at the sand. "Do you have anyone you can set me up with?"

"Uh…" Jenny begins, tapping her chin and pretending to ponder, "I'll have to get back to you on that-"

"Hey Mom-lady and uh…the scary one," Mickey quickly greets, racing over to the pair. "I passed my Academic Arguments exam!" Mickey announces. He holds up his exam, which has the words 'Good work?' written across the top in bold, black pen. "And I owe it all to your persistent study techniques, which I hope you will never use again," he adds, taking a cautious step back away from Olive.

Jenny smiles. "Great job, Mickey! Just keep working hard and I'm sure you'll pass all your classes!"

"Oh yeah," Mickey nods, "Especially if I keep cheating off that alien kid's paper," he adds.

Jenny's face instantly falls at this comment. "Pardon?" she squeaks.

"You heard me, I passed my exam because I cheated off some loser," he laughs, waving the wrongdoing off with his hand, "I think his name was Jeffrey Smith or something stupid like that."

Olive watches as Jenny's normally-pale color drains from her face and instantly turns red, the blonde mother's fists clenched at her sides. The elderly woman slowly steps away from her, scared of someone else for the first time in her life.

"-Johnny," Jenny growls, "His name is Johnny Smith, and he is my son."

"Oooh," Mickey speaks, tilting his head back. He matches Jenny's fuming eyes and waves sheepishly at her. "So does this mean I still get a 100%? Cause I filled out all the bubbles myself," he adds.

Jenny swiftly turns on her heels and storms across the front lawn. Olive treks forward, doing her best to keep up with her teammate, but having to settle with being thirty feet behind.

Olive huffs as she arrives at a tall, tan-bricked building a few blocks across campus. She slowly opens the door and spots Jenny standing at the front desk. "Jenny, what are you doing?" Olive asks, finally regaining her composure enough to speak.

"What does it look like I'm doing?!" Jenny fires back, not even bothering to make eye contact, "I'm turning that little sneak in for cheating off my son's exam!"

"At the Student Housing Office?" Olive questions, her voice filled with doubt, "They aren't qualified to deal with this."

Jenny looks forward, a fierce look in her eyes, "They will be after I'm done with them!"

Olive sighs. "Jenny, come on, it's unfortunate that this happened, but Johnny's in college now. He can't always have Mommy fighting his battles for him," Olive tells her, "It'll mess up his psyche. I mean, just look at Loki!"

"Point taken," Jenny mutters, still focused on the task at hand.

"Jenny, Mickey's an idiot," Olive continues, "And he's not going to get anywhere in life. Trust me, he'll have his comeuppance, and your hands will be clean," she adds, "For now, let's just take this opportunity to finish this leg of the race on top."

Jenny turns to the elderly woman and sighs, knowing deep down that her words ring true. "Alright," she nods, before walking with Olive towards the exit, "But we should probably go back to the frat house and grab the mallet before someone tries to sell it on Simbay."

 _Roommates – Day 2_

Crystal moans and scrunches her forehead, her colossal headache causing her jaw to ache as she lies in a hospital bed in her own room at La Fiesta Tech's main hospital. Nervous stands frozen in front of the whiteboard that contains all of patient's basic information as given by Pleasantview Hospital, his eyes fixated on the top line. After a few moments of dreaded silence, Nervous slowly closes his mouth and turns to his teammate. "Crystal…" Nervous speaks up, unable to control his volume, "what is _this_?" he shrieks, pointing up at the name written on line one.

"What is what?" Crystal wonders, before staring at the words written next to Nervous' finger. The line reads, "Crystal Beaker" in bold, black letters. "Oh no…" Crystal cries, her eyes widen in horror, "It's all coming back to me now…I married Loki!"

"WHAT?!" Nervous screams, his mouth agape once more. Crystal rubs her temples, her headache growing larger by the second. "No, no, no. That doesn't make any sense! I thought Circe was married to Loki?" Nervous cries, this situation morphing into his worst nightmare.

"No, she wasn't," Crystal speaks up, "She thought she was, but legally, he married me an hour before their wedding."

"When did this happen?!"

"Last year," Crystal answers as she struggles to wrap her head around this confession, "It was out of pity, I swear! Well…kind of," she corrects herself, "We did have a bit of a thing a couple years back, but we ended it once he 'married' Circe. The whole thing was pretty _Twisted_."

"But-but that still doesn't make any sense!" Nervous cries, doing his best to remain calm, "Loki's a major blabbermouth. How come he's never mentioned it before?"

Crystal sighs. "Because he doesn't remember it," she says, "After the marriage, he erased both of our memories, but then mine got restored when I got hit in the head and this whole catastrophe came back to me!" she shouts, throwing her hands up, "Oh man, this is bad. I was supposed to take this secret to the grave and now the entire neighborhood's going to go up in flames!"

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time," Nervous mutters, "But before that happens, we should probably get you out of here."

"Nervous, wait!" Crystal cries, stopping her roommate before he can help her out of bed, "Before you do this, you have to swear to me that you won't tell anyone about this," she pleads, grabbing onto his arm, "You have to keep this a secret," Crystal begs. She turns and narrows her eyes at the cameraman, "You too."

"Okay, fine," Nervous states, caving in almost immediately, "I won't say anything. But now that I know this piece of information, it does make sense why Loki let me go without a fight," he states, "I just never thought in a million years it was because he has a soft spot for you."

"Oh God, please don't say that. I feel like I'm gonna vomit," Crystal replies, holding onto her stomach. The pair look up as the doctor walks into the room.

"Perfect timing," Nervous chimes, "We'd like to check out of the hospital now."

The doctor steps forward and shakes his head, rifling over the paperwork on his clipboard. He turns to Crystal, "I'm sorry, but we can't discharge you from the hospital unless we get written consent from a spouse or family member."

"Oh," Nervous mutters as Crystal's stomach sinks at these words. "Well…uh…I'm Loki," he declares, doing a small jig in place, "Doopity doo!"

Crystal groans and facepalms. "No, he's not," she mutters to the doctor, before looking to her teammate, "And Loki doesn't say 'doopity doo'!" she hisses.

"He did once…and that's Pascal's impression of him!" Nervous whines.

"Um, yes," the doctor speaks up, still standing awkwardly in the room. "But you still can't leave the hospital without your husband's signature," he informs the pair, setting the clipboard on the end table before quietly exiting the room.

Crystal throws her hands up once again. "Damn it!" she curses, "Nervous, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're going to have to find Loki and trick him into signing the release form."

Nervous's eyes widen like saucers. "How am I supposed to do that?!" he cries.

"Oh, I don't know, just say that it's for an article for Science Magazine's most ingenious physicist signatures!" she suggests.

Nervous scrunches his forehead. "Crystal," he says dubiously, "I really don't think that's going to work."

"It will," she answers definitively, " _Trust me_."

…

A couple hours later, Nervous is peeking around the corner of Tri-Fruhm house's main hallway, staring into the living room, where Loki is standing front and center conversing with Monica. "Well, here goes nothing," Nervous states, giving a terrified gulp as he approaches him, every inch of his body telling him to get out while he still can. "Uh…Loki?" Nervous squeaks.

Loki abruptly turns around, appearing much more enraged than usual. "What?!" he barks as Vidcund watches their conversation nearby.

"Can you sign this thing for Science Magazine?" Nervous asks, shivering in fear as he holds out the pen and clipboard to him, "They're doing an article on the most ingenious physicist signatures and told me to get yours," he adds.

"Oh, okay," Loki shrugs, grabbing the pen and signing the paper quickly without giving it a second thought. He hands the pen back to Nervous.

"Oh, uh…thanks!" Nervous beams, swerving on his heel and racing off the premises.

Vidcund turns to Loki, his arms crossed in puzzlement. "Um, you do know Nervous doesn't work for Science Magazine, right?"

"Of course," Loki nods, flashing his signature smirk, "He obviously wanted my signature for Science World instead. Everyone knows they're the better magazine," Loki rolls his eyes, "Geez Viddy, get with the times! Just because you dress like you're eighty doesn't mean you should be stuck fifty years in the past!"

Outside, Nervous is running towards the taxi. He holds the clipboard up to his chest, his face filled with awe at how surprisingly easy it was to get Loki's signature. Nervous's mind shifts to Crystal, "Huh, maybe she does know him after all."

 _Friends – Day 2_

Ajay and Pollination Tech #9 are standing on the second-floor of The Wasteland Lounge, the popular student hangout rather deserted at eleven in the morning. Ajay sighs as he takes a sip of his coffee, eyeing the wooden dartboard mount up across the room. "So, how are we going to help Stella make friends?" Ajay wonders, "She couldn't even look the barista in the eyes a few hours ago."

"Well, she seems to have no problem looking that young hip gentleman in the eye," Pollination Tech #9, taking a sip of his latte.

"What?!" Ajay turns to the doorway only to find Stella conversing happily with a black-haired, nicely-dressed college townie in the next room, "Who is that?" Ajay whispers.

"Chandeler Wolosenko," Pollination Tech #9 responds promptly, earning a suspicious look from his teammate, "She told me about him this morning."

Ajay sighs and turns his back to the door. "Good to know," he grumbles, attempting to hide his frown behind his steaming coffee cup.

Pollination Tech #9 smirks, nudging Ajay softly in the side. "Why don't you just admit that you like her?"

"Because I don't," Ajay hisses, "I haven't liked anyone since I was moved into the Family Bin. Remember Bridget?" he questions; Pollination shakes his head, "Well, I don't either! I think she turned into Mystery Sim a few years back…" Ajay trails off, scratching his chin in a ponder.

"Look, I've been around the beehive many times in my life, Ajay," Pollination Tech #9 says, "I know a crush when I see it."

Ajay scrunches his forehead, "Uh, I think the phrase you're looking for is _around the block_."

"Why would it be around the block?" Pollination Tech #9 wonders, bewildered by Ajay's simple comment, "There's just a mountain of sand there."

"That's not what I-" Ajay sighs as he locks eyes with his partner, "-Never mind."

"Hey guys!" Stella's voice chimes. Mere seconds later, the young woman joins the Strangetown residents near the dartboard, Chandler following close behind. "I would like to introduce you two to Chandler," she beams, gesturing to the college townie. Chandler smiles and gives a small wave.

"Hi, Chandler," Pollination Tech #9 speaks up, holding his hand out to shake, "I'm Pollination Technician Galaxa Drone Number 375-69, but you can just call me PT for short," he greets. Chandler slowly nods in reply, the young man appearing scared out of his mind.

"I always wondered what that stood for," Ajay mutters, not bothering to make eye contact with anyone. "Wow, what a great carpet pattern," he mutters.

"And, um, Chandler. This is Ajay," Stella says, gesturing towards the disinterested individual.

"Hello, Ajay," Chandler states, waving to the sim. Ajay sighs and crumples his empty coffee cup up before chucking the remains over his shoulder.

"I need some water," Ajay announces. He stands up in his seat and treks down the staircase, leaving Pollination Tech #9 to deal with the awkward situation.

Stella turns to the side, mouth agape, stunned by Ajay's behavior. "Um, I'll be right back," she states.

Stella races down the staircase, meeting Ajay who has just come out of the bathroom. "So, what do you think?" she wonders, her abruptness catching Ajay by surprise, "Do you like him?"

"No," Ajay replies bluntly, "He's too bland."

"You didn't even talk to him," Stella says, her head tilted in confusion, "Come on, Ajay. Just give him a chance, I'm trying to make friends here. You know this isn't easy for me. I need your help," she confides as Ajay rolls his eyes up at the ceiling. "Wasn't that the whole point of you guys coming to my house in the first place?"

Ajay nods, "It was."

"So, what's the problem?"

Ajay scans Stella over, the sincerity in Stella's face causing his stomach to drop. "Nothing," Ajay gulps, suddenly feeling quite self-conscious around her, "Nothing at all," he caves, staring down at her, "I'm sorry. I promise I'll be nice to Stephen McAlley. It's just-I don't know, I'm getting a bad feeling from this guy."

"That's the third time you've said this today, Ajay," Stella sighs, crossing her arms over her torso, "I think I know what's really going on here."

"You do?" Ajay gasps, butterflies fluttering in his stomach as the color drains from his face.

"Yeah," Stella nods, "You've been in the Family Bin for so long, you've closed yourself off to relationships," she reveals, the color returning to Ajay's face at this revelation, "Maybe you need to learn to actually let people in. That's the only way you'll ever make friends."

"I don't want to make friends," Ajay remarks, not even bothering to think over these words. Stella steps back, seemingly struck by his comment. Her face falling instantly.

"Oh."

"I mean…not that I didn't want to meet you," Ajay stutters, frantically waving his arms in front of his chest, "but I just don't usually like interacting with other people…"

"No, no I get it," Stella answers, her eyes trailing to the carpet, "No need to elaborate," she claims as she steps back towards the entrance doorway, "I'll just head home." Stella stops and turns to Pollination Tech #9 who has just joined his teammate near the bathroom door, "It was nice meeting you guys," she mutters, Pollination Tech #9 tilting his head as he watches Stella give a small, disheartening wave and exit out the door.

Pollination Tech #9 turns to Ajay, who appears equally crushed by the encounter. "What happened between you two?"

Ajay sighs, "I really don't want to talk about it," he says, pacing towards the opposite end of the hallway. He throws his arms out in distress and curses up at the ceiling, "Damn it! I'm such an idiot!" he cries, "I knew I shouldn't have left the Family Bin."

 _Lovers – Day 2_

"Arghuhh," Loki groans as he flops onto his back, the light from the living room blaring into his eyes, giving the mad scientist a massive headache. He slowly sits up on the floor, his torso stained with dried vomit. "Oh God," Loki moans, holding his hand up to his pounding forehead, the room in complete disarray around him, "I don't remember anything. – Damn it!" he cries, pounding his fist down on the crumb-filled carpet, "Why do I keep getting drugged on these shows?!"

Loki sighs as he gazes around the room, his eyes finally adjusting to the newfound light. "Now where's my dork?" he wonders, stopping when he spies a blonde turned away from him sprawled out next to the pineapple. "Hey sexy," Loki coos, reaching out to the individual. He turns the sim over, locking eyes with a townie with askew hair. "Oh God! No, that's not him!" Loki blurts, quickly letting go of the sim and bolting out of the living room.

Loki walks up the staircase and steps into the second-floor hallway, where, sure enough, Vidcund is sprawled out in front of the bathroom. Vidcund is dressed in his everyday attire, minus his classic white pants. "Ah, there you are," Loki speaks, Vidcund moans when Loki hugs him from behind. "Aw, come on. There's no need to be upset. You're still the cutest one here…besides me, of course," he whispers, before staring down at Vidcund's midsection and glancing at his boyfriend's melon boxers, "Uh…where the hell are your pants?"

"You took them and threw them in the toilet," Vidcund moans, blocking the light with his hands.

Loki laughs, "Yeah, that does sound like me," he nods, "Now grab them and come on, we got to figure out if we accomplished that DJ's goal."

…

A few hours later, Vidcund and Loki are standing in the center of Tri-Fruhm's living room waiting as DJ tallies up the amount of new pledges the sorority received the previous night, Vidcund wearing his full everyday outfit. Nearby, Jessie and Sarah are sitting on the couch glaring at the two men, a bite taken out of their new piece of luxury furniture.

"Oh my God!" Monica blares out from the kitchen, she walks into the room carrying a box of cereal, "Someone vomited in my Cookie Squares!"

"Consider that a blessing, kid. Those things are like five thousand calories a bowl," Loki mutters, earning a glare from the art student. Monica turns on her heels and stomps out of the room, passing by Nervous Subject, who is shaking as he approaches his tormentor.

"Hey…Loki?" Nervous squeaks.

…

"Well, I honestly can't believe it, but your idea actually worked," DJ states after the test subject has departed, turning her clipboard around and flipping through the pages, "We gained twenty new members, which means we're now officially the most popular Greek house on campus!"

"YES!" Jessie beams, jumping up from the couch and giving a squeal, "Take that, Oresha-Hoh-Var!"

"Congratulations, DJ, you really worked overtime," Loki replies as DJ holds a copy of the list of pledges out to him. DJ scrunches her forehead.

"Uh, Loki. She's not a DJ, that's just her nickname. She's a member of this sorority," Vidcund clarifies.

"Psh, yeah right," Loki replies, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a fifty, "Here you go."

DJ stares down at the bill, "Uh…what?"

"Just take the money and run," Vidcund suggests, trying to cease his second-hand embarrassment. His stomach starts to rumble.

DJ shrugs and pockets the simoleons as Loki stops in the center of the room and gathers the rest of the girls. "Well, I know we severely trashed your place, but at least we had fun, right?"

Monica folds her arms, shooting the mad scientist a death glare with the rest of her sisters. " _Never_ come back here again!" she shouts.

"Okay," Loki nods after taking a long look at the destruction, "Fair enough. Well, we better get out of here before sundown."

DJ steps forward, glancing down at her watch wondrously. "Uh…you guys do know that sundown was twenty minutes ago, right?"

"WHAT?!" Loki cries, "Shit! We're late! Come on, Viddy!" Loki shouts, grabbing Vidcund by the arm. He quickly snatches the list of the pledges from DJ before racing out the backdoor. "Bye DJ! I'll call you if I need you for a party!"

DJ cocks her forehead as she watches the strange men run past their swimming pool, "Uh…okay," she states.

…

"Damn it! How could you let me be so irresponsible? We're probably going to get canned for this!" Loki shouts as he and Vidcund race across La Fiesta Tech's campus.

"Hey, don't you try to pin this on me! It was your idea to throw a party in the first place!" Vidcund says between breaths, doing his best to keep up with Loki in his sluggish state.

Meanwhile, across campus, the Unsavory Charlatan is standing at the finish line mat in the center of the pit stop, waiting for the last three teams to arrive. Behind him, the eldest arrivals, Nervous and Crystal are staring at each other in astonishment.

"Man, I can't believe we finished first, I thought we were cutting it close," Crystal comments.

Nervous nods, "Me too. We even won a free bucket of chicken wings!" he replies, staring down at the bucket of chicken in his hands before locking eyes with Jenny and Olive a few feet away from them, "Hi, Mom! Hi, Jenny!"

The Unsavory Charlatan anxiously rubs his hands together, still waiting for the brothers, friends, and lovers teams to arrive. He turns his back to the campus as two sets of footsteps stomp up behind him. "Please don't be Pascal, please don't be Pascal," he mutters.

"Hey Chet! How's it going?" Pascal chimes out behind the host, causing the Unsavory Charlatan to scream and jump in the air.

The Unsavory Charlatan quickly turns around only to find an overly-enthusiastic Pascal standing behind him, carrying a gigantic trophy which reads, 'Battle of the Bands Winner.'

"I still think you should've left that with the Shifting Paradymes," Lazlo says.

Pascal cocks his eyebrow, "Who?"

The Unsavory Charlatan groans. "Well, you guys obviously won the competition, so just stand over there and get out of my sight!"

"Aww!" Pascal beams, embracing the trophy in his arms, "He still likes me!" he sings as they take their positions next to the other teams. The Unsavory Charlatan rubs his temple and pulls yet another aspirin out of his pocket.

Moments later, Ajay and Pollination Tech #9 arrive at the finish line, the pair looking surprisingly down. "I know we aren't the last team to finish," Ajay begins with a sigh, "but Stella didn't make one friend in the last two days."

"You're joking, right?" the Unsavory Charlatan replies, staring at the resident in wonder, "She just called the show twenty minutes ago. She wouldn't shut up about you, and she surprisingly had nothing but nice things to say. I think you guys both left an impression," he reveals, "Now get back there with the other finishers." Ajay and Pollination Tech #9 nod and head towards the other teams.

"Huh," Ajay states, touched by the gesture as the butterflies return to his stomach, "Who would've guessed?" he asks, suddenly feeling more and more guilty with each step. Ajay sighs as he takes his position next to Pollination Tech #9.

Fifteen minutes later, Vidcund and Loki arrive at the pit stop, both members looking utterly exhausted. The Unsavory Charlatan shakes his head and tisks. "Vidcund, Loki, you two are the last to arrive at the pit stop…"

"Hurrah," Loki sarcastically states as Vidcund crouches down on the ground next to him. Behind them, all of the other sims look disappointed, except Circe who is beaming from head to toe.

"…but unfortunately, this is not an elimination leg."

"It's not?" Loki cries, instantly perking up at this news. Circe frowns.

"Oh thank God!" Vidcund states, standing up and wiping some sweat from his forehead, "Wait, what do you mean _unfortunately_?"

The Unsavory Charlatan crosses his arms, sporting a sassy smirk, "Hey, I stand by what I said," he states, "But because you two finished in last place, you will be penalized in the next leg of the race."

Vidcund nods, suddenly feeling quite overheated. He quickly snatches the list of pledges from Loki and fans himself with the paper.

Kristen watches as Vidcund and Loki join the rest of the teams behind the mat, noticing the Grim Reaper intently eyeing the latter contestant as he stops beside Crystal. The Grim Reaper grips his scythe, slowly and discreetly floating towards the sim. "Well," Loki speaks up, "at least I can finally rest for a minute-"

Kristen races forward and tackles Loki to the ground, causing Death to miss his strike completely. Jenny screams, runs over to Pollination Tech #9 and grabs his hand, moving her husband further away from the NPC.

Loki groans from the ground, his arms sprawled over his head as Kristen continues to sit on top of him. "Oh God," he moans, too tired to stand, "I can't feel my legs."

"Kristen!" The Grim Reaper barks. He floats over to his teammate, irritation laced in his voice, "You read the scroll, didn't you?"

Kristen sweat drops, nervously rubbing the back of her head. "I uh…maybe had a glance at it," she states.

"Well, I hope you're happy cause that one little action just messed up my entire plan!"

"Yeah…about that," Kristen begins, slowly stepping off of Loki, "I'm not sure if I support that plan."

"You may think that you shouldn't support this one, but trust me, you haven't seen the alternative yet," the Grim Reaper reveals, the residents frozen in shock around him, "But…no matter. I can just kill him now!" the Grim Reaper turns his attention back to Loki, raising his scythe in the air. Vidcund quickly steps to the side and stands in front of his boyfriend, blocking the Grim Reaper's path. "Damn it, Vidcund! Get away from him!" Vidcund shakes his head no, too terrified to even speak, "You're making this harder than it needs to be!"

"Oh well. Life goes on," Circe remarks, bored by the whole situation, "Come on, Death. Just kill Loki and save everyone some trouble!"

Loki turns and glares at his ex-wife, "Thanks, Circe," he mutters.

All of a sudden, the Grim Reaper moves back, seemingly struck with shock as he shifts his gaze between Circe and Loki. After a few moments, he shrugs and floats away from the lovers team, his bones filling with discomfort as his head starts to ache.

"Well, now that that whole debacle is over, I can finally tell all of you where we'll be travelling next," the Unsavory Charlatan announces, clapping his hands together. Vidcund helps Loki off the sand and joins the rest of the teams in the circle.

A few feet back, the Grim Reaper groans, the severity of his headache only growing worse as he stands near the Strangetown residents. The Grim Reaper looks up, trying to pinpoint the source of his discomfort. He floats forward, his head throbbing in pain as he stops behind Circe, who is standing between Erin and Vidcund. " _No…_ " Death whispers.

Ten feet away from his father, Nervous is standing next to Crystal, doing his best to pay attention to the rambling host. Nervous gulps as he anxiously stands between Loki and Crystal, the test subject's glance awkwardly alternating between the pair, never feeling more uncomfortable in his life.

"…Get ready folks," the Unsavory Charlatan continues, "cause next week things are about to go _Shakespeare_!"

"Lord Wright, save us now," Loki mutters, rolling his eyes up at the sky.

"That's right!" the Unsavory Charlatan declares, pointing in the scientist's face, "Pack your bags, everyone. We're going to Veronaville!"


End file.
